Not Without a Fight
by Concave Patterns
Summary: (Post TDW) The human body was never designed to withstand the power of the Aether. Now Jane is dying and it's up to Thor and Darcy to save her before time runs out. But when Darcy strikes up an unlikely deal with a certain presumed-dead trickster, it may be her own life that's on the line.
1. Chapter 1

New story! I hope you guys like it :)

* * *

It was official: science hated her.

"Jane, I think we've got a problem!" Darcy banged a fist on top of the scientific gadget that was currently screeching at her. "Is this thing supposed to be bursting my ear drums? I think it's malfunctioning."

"Did you smack it?" Jane called from across the lab, barely looking up from her laptop.

"Yep, didn't work." Darcy cringed and covered her ears as the stupid device continued to emit a high-pitched squealing noise. She could already feel a headache building behind her eyes.

"Try pulling out the program chip." Jane suggested.

"Where's that?" Darcy frowned, looking over the piece of homemade equipment. It kind of looked like a toaster oven and a paper shredder had a baby together...a very ugly baby that was mostly held together with duct tape.

"On the bottom corner, left side. Your other left, Darcy. Oh, just let me look at it." Jane walked over and pulled the chip out, making Darcy's nearly-bleeding ears very happy.

"Thank God," Darcy breathed a sigh of relief, "That thing was like a car alarm on steroids."

She glanced over at Jane to see the astrophysicist swaying on her feet.

"Uh, you okay?" Darcy asked her, "You're looking pretty pale. And unstable. Literally."

Jane frowned, her eyes looking glassy and unfocused, "Not feeling so hot." She mumbled.

"If you're gonna faint, try not to land on any of the pointy equipment, okay?" Darcy took Jane's arm and led her back to her desk where Jane collapsed heavily into her chair.

Jane had been working even more fanatically than usual over the last couple of months, so Darcy wasn't surprised to see that she had started to burn out. Though Darcy supposed that if Stark Industries were funding her own science project that she'd sunk her entire life's work into, she would be a little fanatic too.

The call from Stark himself had come shortly after Jane and Darcy returned to America after the whole London fiasco. Once he heard how Jane and Erik's gravity spikes basically saved the asses of everyone on the planet (first New Mexico, now London...Darcy was getting pretty damn tired of all this saving the world business), he instantly offered Jane a position complete with her own shiny new state-of-the-art lab.

It was good money and Darcy was swimming in student debt so she jumped at Stark's offer, opting to continue working alongside Jane. Besides, no one else could decipher Jane's chicken scratch handwriting and follow her sometimes erratic train of thought quite like Darcy could.

"You alright?" Darcy asked Jane again. She wasn't used to seeing Jane at any speed other than 100% super science mode, so Jane's current condition was kind of freaking her out. "Should I call someone? Do you want water?"

"Water. Please." Jane said quietly, closing her eyes and letting out a loud, tired exhale.

"'Kay. You stay right there. Just...stay." Darcy instructed, putting her palm up and backing away slowly as if she were instructing a puppy to sit.

She grabbed an empty plastic tumbler off her desk and rushed down the hall to the bathroom. After filling the cup with semi-cold tap water, Darcy jogged back down the hall to the lab, afraid to leave Jane alone for too long.

It was probably just the stomach flu, Darcy thought, though she had never seen any kind of flu come on so quickly like that. Not even the time she got food poisoning from that sketchy taco joint back in Puente Antiguo. Ah, good times.

She skidded through the door of the lab, her black Converse squeaking loudly on the tile floor. Much to Darcy's surprise, the chair where she had left Jane was now empty.

A cold feeling of dread settled deep in Darcy's stomach. "Jane?" She called out tentatively.

As she walked further into the room, Darcy caught sight of something out of the corner of her eye. A mess of chocolate brown hair was on the floor, the ends of the strands just barely sticking out from where they were hidden behind Jane's desk.

The plastic cup slipped from between Darcy's numb fingers, bouncing off the floor and drenching her shoes and pant legs with water.

"Oh my God, Jane? Jane!" Darcy ran to the desk, crouching down to touch Jane's shoulder and gently turning her over onto her back. The astrophysicist was pale, sweaty, and most definitely not conscious.

Pulling her phone from the back pocket of her jeans, Darcy dialled 9-1-1 as quickly as her shaky fingers would allow. After she babbled anxiously to the operator she plopped down onto the floor next to Jane, waiting for help to arrive.

Feeling helpless and worried, Darcy chewed on her bottom lip until she tasted blood. She had never been much of a believer in premonition or omens, but right now she couldn't shake the feeling that whatever had happened to Jane was no simple case of exhaustion or illness.

It was only later in the hospital, as the doctors spoke to her in gentle hushed tones, that Darcy realized nothing could have prepared her for how bad it really was.

* * *

The door to Jane's hospital room swung open violently, hitting the wall with a bang and startling Darcy out of her half-asleep state.

Blinking wildly, she straightened from her slouched position in the chair at Jane's bedside, wiping a bit of drool off her chin.

Turning her stiff neck (she really should have asked the nurse for a pillow), Darcy saw Thor burst into the room. His eyes darted around frantically until they settled on Jane and Darcy. His posture relaxed slightly when he noticed them.

"Darcy, my friend." He crossed the room in two long strides and placed a warm, heavy hand on her shoulder, "It is good to see you, though I wish it were under better circumstances." He frowned, eyes drifting across to where Jane lay in her hospital bed, cocooned under sterile white sheets.

"Same here, big guy." Darcy patted the empty chair beside her and Thor dropped down into the seat, the cheap plastic material groaning under the weight of his heavy Asgardian armour. "How did you know where to find us?"

Thor shifted in his seat and Darcy saw his cheeks colour slightly with embarrassment, "Some time ago I asked Heimdall to start keeping watch over Jane. He informed me that she was unwell."

"Woah, he can do that? Awesome." Darcy said, suitably impressed. "And a little creepy. Sorry buddy, but now I'm totally gonna have to tell Jane about your little spy in the sky. Girl code and all that."

"It's no matter. How fares she?" Thor asked gravely. He reached forward and gently picked up Jane's limp hand, holding it in his. It looked so tiny and frail in comparison to Thor's that Darcy had to look away, her stomach twisting with a sudden, unexpected wave of emotion.

In reply to Thor's question, she shrugged her shoulders. "They won't tell me much since I'm not family, but..." she wet her lips, forcing out the words she didn't want to say, "something's wrong with her heart. Look," Darcy reached up and tapped her fingernail against the screen of the monitor recording Jane's vital signs, "this isn't good. The nurse said it's like her organs have aged. She looks fine on the outside but inside her heart is basically the equivalent of an eighty year old's."

"How is that possible?" Thor's voice was rough and laced with anger.

"Dunno." Darcy slouched in her chair, pulling off her glasses to rub at her eyes tiredly. "All I do know is that the doctors are saying it's untreatable." She shoved her glasses back on forcefully and met Thor's eyes, "They're doing _nothing_, Thor. They're just...they're letting her..." Her throat closed up and Darcy couldn't bring herself to speak that final word.

_Die._

Jane was dying and no one was doing a damned thing about it.

It was unfair and just plain _wrong_. Darcy's eyes burned with unshed tears and she blinked them back furiously. When she looked at Thor again, she saw the same feeling of helpless anger reflected on his own face.

After a beat of silence, Thor spoke.

"Then we must save her. We will not let her perish, not without a fight." He stated, his voice growing stronger with each word as he seamlessly slipped into his role of leader and warrior. "I must bring her to Asgard. If something strange is at play in her body, our healers can fix it."

For the first time since Jane's collapse, a small seed of hope bloomed in Darcy's chest. "I'm all for that," she agreed, "just one small problem. How do we sneak her out of here without getting caught?"

Thor extended his arm and before long, Darcy heard the familiar sound of Myeuh-Myeuh racing towards him. He caught the hammer with ease before giving Darcy a small smile.

"Who said we have to be sneaky?"

* * *

On the list of things Darcy never expected to do within her lifetime, flying through a hospital window with a Norse god and a sick astrophysicist ranked pretty high up there.

Yet here she was, clinging to Thor's arm as they crashed through the glass window pane and flew away from Mount Sinai. The busy streets of New York grew smaller and smaller below them until the congested traffic looked like nothing but little ants to Darcy.

She had no idea where Mjolnir was taking them. They were moving so quickly that Darcy's eyes were watering from the wind and she had to squeeze them shut tightly. Well, that and the fact that they were a couple hundred feet off the ground and it was _fucking terrifying_.

She didn't open her eyes again until she felt her feet brush solid ground. Blinking rapidly, she let her eyes adjust to the bright afternoon sunlight and found that they were standing in a wide, empty field. Probably a farmer's field, Darcy guessed judging from the stink of manure in the air. Barf.

Thor cradled Jane protectively in his arms. The ride hadn't woken her at all and if it weren't for the steady rise and fall of her chest, Darcy wouldn't have even known that her friend was still alive.

"Thank you, Darcy." Thor nodded his head at her gratefully, "I will return Jane once she is well."

"Woah! Hold up, big guy." Darcy said quickly, grabbing a handful of his cape and tugging at it, "You're not going to Asgard without me, and you sure as hell aren't leaving me out here in the boonies."

Thor hesitated, his brows drawing together with worry, "My father will not be pleased that I have brought Jane. He would be even less pleased if I were to bring you along as well."

"Well too flippin' bad for your father." Darcy stated, crossing her arms. "I go where Jane goes. And besides, when she wakes up, I'm sure she'll want to see a familiar face." _When_ she woke up and not _if_, Darcy sincerely hoped.

The corner of Thor's mouth turned up into a smile. "Jane is lucky to have such a fierce friend in you, Darcy."

"Is that a yes?" Darcy asked excitedly, bouncing on the soles of her feet.

"Aye." Thor confirmed, "Are you ready?" He held out his arm to her.

"Damn right I am!" Darcy wound both her arms tightly around his impressive bicep, trying to remember that now was really not the time to be eyeballing his muscles. Were all Asgardians this beefy? She was excited to find out.

"Don't let go." Thor reminded her before he tilted his head to look up at the sky, "HEIMDALL! WHEN YOU ARE READY!" He bellowed.

Darcy had seen Thor and his warrior buddies come and go from Earth enough times that she had a pretty good idea of what came next, but seeing it and actually experiencing it were two _very_ different things.

A beam of blinding light exploded around them and everything went strangely quiet except for the hum of white noise in her ears.

The next thing Darcy knew, they were being catapulted into space. Or something. She didn't really know how it worked, that was more Jane's area.

All she knew was that it was bright and dizzying and totally fucking awesome. Colours danced around her in a trippy kaleidoscope of neon reds, yellows, and blues. She looked up at Thor, catching his eye and grinning wildly to show her approval.

Far too soon for her liking, they came to an abrupt stop. Darcy stumbled to the ground, catching herself on her hands and knees and just narrowly avoiding a face-plant.

"Wow..." she breathed, studying the shiny floor beneath her fingers.

She quickly scrambled up onto her feet, eyes eagerly taking in the strange, spherical room they were in. The walls reminded Darcy of the inside of a clock, comprised of hundreds of gears fitted together and turning smoothly. To her left, the wall gave way to a large round window that looked out over the dark, glittering expanse of the universe. It was the most amazing thing Darcy had ever seen.

"Quite a sight, isn't it?" A deep, unfamiliar voice startled Darcy out of her trance.

She jumped, turning to see a man standing beside her in full shining armour, gazing through the window just as she had been doing.

"Sure is." She agreed. "So I guess you're that gatekeeper guy. Heimdall, right?"

His unusual golden eyes focused on her and Darcy thought she saw a smile ghost across his face but she couldn't be certain. He looked very stoic and the giant, heavy looking helmet he wore obscured most of his features.

"Indeed I am." He answered politely, "Welcome to Asgard, Darcy Lewis."

"Thanks, dude. So how does that 'all-seeing' thing work anyway? Like, have you ever accidently looked at someone while they're on the toilet or picking their nose?" Darcy asked curiously.

Much to her disappointment Thor chose that moment to interrupt, saving Heimdall from having to provide her with an answer.

"Darcy, we must hurry." Thor urged, his face tight with worry as he continued to hold Jane close.

The sight of her friend's pale face immediately sobered Darcy as the harsh reality of their situation came rushing back to her like a quick slap in the face.

She followed Thor out of the Bifrost room towards a group of horses that waited to take them across the bridge and into Asgard's city.

At the doorway she hesitated, looking back over her shoulder. "Don't think I've forgotten," she spoke to Heimdall, "you still owe me an answer!"

* * *

Right away, Thor took Jane to the infirmary where she was laid down on a long slab of stone while a group of healers fussed around her.

Darcy stood in the corner, out of the way but watching with interest as the women used some kind of weird hologram floaty screen to examine Jane.

After about an hour, her interest started to wane. As more time passed, Darcy's feet started to hurt from standing in one place. She shifted from foot to foot, trying to get the blood pumping back into her legs. Not to mention, she was getting kinda bored. She pulled out her phone, hoping a check of her Facebook page would pass the time, but stuffed it back in her pocket with a groan after she saw that there was no service.

Finally, mercifully, the head healer, a severe looking woman named Fayne, pulled Thor aside and whispered something into his ear.

Thor shook his head and motioned towards Darcy. "Whatever you have to say, it can be said to us both. Darcy is a trustworthy ally."

Darcy straightened her spine, on full alert. "What did you find? Will Jane be okay?" She questioned the healer.

Fayne's lips tightened into a frown. "There is residual magic within her causing a great deal of strain on her heart. She is weakening quite steadily."

"Residual magic?" Darcy parroted, "When would Jane have ever been exposed to-"

"The Aether." Thor cut in softly.

"Oh." Darcy choked out, her heart seizing with worry.

"The mortal body was not made to hold such power as the Aether. It is..." Fayne cut a worried look to Thor before licking her lips and continuing, "it is quite honestly a miracle that she has survived this long."

"Surely there must be something you can do." Thor implored, his voice thick.

Fayne shook her head slowly. "We can try to regenerate her body but it requires a great deal of powerful magic. Far more than I or any of the other healers possess."

"Try." Thor instructed firmly, "Do everything you can for her."

Fayne bowed her head, "Yes, Your Highness." She returned to Jane's side and quickly started issuing orders to the other healers.

Leaving the healers to their job, Thor guided Darcy out of the infirmary. "I will show you to your room, Darcy. It is already growing late."

Now that Jane was in capable hands, it felt as if all the stress of the day caught up to Darcy at once and exhaustion slammed into her like a brick wall. Her head felt foggy and her limbs were heavy with fatigue.

"Wouldn't say no to a bed right now." She suppressed a yawn and followed Thor through the large and ornate hallways, gawking at the high ceilings and carved stone pillars.

Thor came to an abrupt stop so suddenly that Darcy accidently crashed into his back.

"Ow! Dude I almost broke my nose on your armour. What gives?" She rubbed her sore nose, grimacing slightly.

"Father." Thor spoke slowly and carefully, his usual jovial tone replaced with one that was far more wary.

Curious, Darcy peeked around Thor's wide back and was treated to her first real look at Odin.

He was like a super intimidating pirate Santa Claus, Darcy mused, taking in his metal eye patch and white beard. His face looked aged and weary, making her wonder just how old he actually was. If she had to guess she'd say old as balls.

"I hear that you have brought the Lady Foster to Asgard yet again." Odin said, his voice loud but neutral. "And another Midgardian as well?" His eye flicked to Thor's side where Darcy stood.

Darcy swallowed loudly, stepping out to stand in front of the Allfather. "Um, yeah. Darcy Lewis, assistant to Jane Foster and Earth-friend to Thor. Hiya." She forced a smile onto her face and gave an awkward little wave.

Odin's good eye studied her intensely and he was silent for a long, long time. Finally he looked to Thor, addressing his son, "Make sure they do not cause trouble."

"Yes, father." Thor nodded solemnly.

Odin seemed content with Thor's response as he turned and continued down the hall, his long cape sweeping behind him.

Once he was gone, Darcy let out the breath she didn't realize she'd been holding. "I thought you said he'd be mad." She whispered not-so-quietly to Thor.

"I...I thought he would be," Thor looked a bit bewildered, "he was quite upset when Jane was last here. In fact, he likened her to a goat."

"Fucking weird." Darcy commented.

They continued down the hall in silence, Darcy nearly smashing into his back again when Thor stopped in front of a large set of carved wooden doors.

He turned to Darcy, looking a bit lost as he spoke, "Mother always tended to our guest rooms...towels, linens and such. I'm afraid this is the only suitable bed I can offer you at the moment. Apologies, Darcy."

"No sweat, big guy." Darcy shrugged a shoulder. She was so dead tired that a pile of rocks would have made a good bed in her exhausted state of mind.

Despite her reassurance, Thor still looked uncomfortable, "This is, er, _was_ my brother's room." He awkwardly admitted, "I could not bring myself to clear it out after his death."

"Oh." Darcy responded dumbly, not sure what to say on the subject of Loki. Sorry but not sorry your psycho brother who made Erik go loony and almost took over Earth finally got what was coming to him? Yeah, she didn't think so.

"It's all cool, Thor. Really." Darcy told him. He had enough to worry about with Jane. A bedroom, in comparison, was small potatoes. And besides, it was only a room. Loki himself was long gone.

Thor looked immensely relieved. He bid Darcy good night and then excused himself to go check on Jane's condition.

Alone, Darcy stared at the doors in front of her, slowly reaching out to grasp the handle. Just a room, she reminded herself, nothing but four walls.

Holding her breath, she yanked on the handle, the heavy door opening with a dull creak.

Inside the bedroom was not at all what Darcy had expected. Not that she'd ever really had expectations about what Loki's room would look like, but she would have assumed it to be dark and cave-like. A proper villain's lair. Instead, it was organized and clean and nicely decorated with rich green fabrics.

Immediately, she made a beeline for the large four-poster canopy bed, throwing herself down onto the mattress and sighing contently as she sunk into the cushy softness. She would just close her eyes for a minute then she would go back to the infirmary to see Jane.

One minute turned into ten, ten turned into an hour, and by the time Darcy's eyes finally opened, it was well into the middle of the night.

"Dammit," she groaned and rolled off of the bed, fumbling in the dark for some kind of light. She never thought to ask Thor about Asgard's whole electricity situation.

Her fingertips brushed against something smooth and round on the bedside table, causing a quick burst of light to break through the darkness.

Curious, Darcy picked up the object. As she did, the light returned and stayed on this time, a steady ray shining out of the circular object, like a flashlight. She dropped the orb on the mattress and the light dimmed again.

"Sweet," she picked it up again and watched the light flicker to life, "touch-activated space flashlight! I am so keeping this."

Straightening her sleep-rumpled shirt, Darcy clutched the sphere and lit herself a path to the door, closing it behind her as quietly as she could.

"Okay," she spoke under her breath, "infirmary...infirmary...this way?" She hadn't exactly been paying attention when Thor had led her to her room and now everything looked unfamiliar.

She set off to her left, padding down the long hallway until she reached a crossroads where she had the option of continuing straight or going up a set of stone steps. "Aw, fuck." Darcy muttered deciding to try the stairs, "The only way this place could be any more confusing would be if these stairs started moving Hogwarts-style." She looked down at her feet, narrowing her eyes threateningly at the step she stood on, "Don't you even dare."

At the top of the staircase, she continued wandering hallways until she realized that she was well and truly lost.

"Jackpot!" There was a door to her right with pale golden light shining out the gap between the floor and the bottom of the door. Darcy headed for the door, pocketing her little light orb. The room's occupant might be pissed that she was out wandering the castle this late at night, but at least she could ask for directions.

Darcy knocked twice before pushing the door open.

She immediately regretted _that_ decision.


	2. Chapter 2

Surprise! A fast update since I've got the day off (happy Canada Day, fellow canucks!) Thanks to everyone who reviewed chapter 1!

* * *

Darcy had most definitely not found the infirmary.

She had found Odin's chambers and the Allfather himself was currently fast asleep right in front of her. Just her luck that out of the entire gigantic palace, she had to wander into the king's bedroom.

"Oh Shit. Awkward..." Darcy cringed, her fingers flying up to covering her eyes on the off chance that Odin liked to sleep au naturel.

She starting to back away slowly but stopped when a strange shimmer of light caught her attention. It looked like Odin was in some kind of capsule or bubble. She hadn't noticed it before, but now Darcy could see a thin, shining layer of gold light covering his entire body.

"The fuck?" She muttered, carefully stepping forward until she was at Odin's side. She lifted her hand, sticking out her index finger and slowly bringing it closer to the bubble. Closer...closer...

"What are you doing in here?" A loud, authoritative voice rang out behind her, spooking Darcy.

Heart hammering, she whirled around to find Odin wearing a disapproving scowl.

"The fuck?" She repeated. Darcy looked over her shoulder, making sure her eyes weren't playing tricks on her. Sure enough, another Odin was still asleep under the weird light bubble behind her.

Two Odins?

Her night just kept getting weirder.

"Well, this presents a bit of a problem." Odin Two spoke, strolling into the room and shutting the door behind him in a way that was a little too ominous for Darcy's liking.

"How so?" Darcy asked, relieved that her voice didn't waver and reveal any of her growing nervousness.

Odin Two gave her a cynical look, "Surely you know that only one Allfather truly exists." he said dryly, "I cannot have you running off to alert the golden son."

Golden son...Thor, Darcy realized as a drop of icy cold dread trailed down her spine, making her shiver. She suddenly had a very clear idea of who stood before her.

"Loki?" She whispered.

Odin Two's eyes snapped up to meet hers and a slow, menacing smile spread across his face. "Quite perceptive for a _mortal_." He practically sneered the word.

"Quit hiding behind your father's face." Darcy couldn't resist provoking him. Call it payback for the mortal comment, or just plain stupidness. "Show me what you really look like." She challenged bravely.

"If the lady insists," he said, bending at the waist to bow at her mockingly.

A trail of light started at his feet, working its way up his torso and across his shoulders. When he straightened back up to his full height, Darcy found herself looking at the real Loki.

He was tall and lean, a combination that her hormonal lady bits highly approved of. Darcy frowned, quickly chasing that thought away.

His hair was dark and long-ish, stopping just above his shoulders. It was smoothed back, the ends resting behind his ears and curling at the base of his neck. His face was handsome though at the moment it was set in a hard, pensive frown. That's when Darcy realized that he was trying to decide what to do about his problem: her.

"Are you going to kill me?" Darcy asked, trying to sound calm despite the fact that her insides were a jumbled ball of nerves.

"That would be the simple solution." Loki rubbed his jaw thoughtfully as he watched her with dark, unreadable eyes.

"You can't," Darcy said quickly, scrambling for an excuse, "Thor will notice I'm gone and that'll raise a lot of red flags."

Loki gave a derisive snort, shaking his head, "That's a minor issue I can solve quite easily."

"He'd never know the difference between you and me." A female voice sounded behind Darcy, making her jump. She turned to see an exact duplicate of herself blinking back at her.

"What the hell is that?!" She backed away from her clone, forgetting that Loki stood just a few short feet away from her. When her back bumped against his chest, she looked up to see him smile darkly at her.

"A useful trick, isn't it?" He said, rather pleased with himself.

His smug pride was the final straw for Darcy, causing her anger to boil over.

"You stupid assface!" she ranted, planting her hands on her hips. "Is your brain broken? You can't solve everything with death! God, with you it's either kill or be fake killed because you don't have the balls to face your problems. You know what I think? You're a _coward_."

Loki's arrogant smile dropped, his face quickly transforming with rage. "You dare to speak to me like that?" He grabbed her wrist roughly, fingers digging into her flesh.

"Go ahead," Darcy's breath came out in pants, a mixture of anger and fear, "kill me now. You'll just be proving my point. Afraid the little mortal girl will ruin your plans so you off her."

Loki growled low in his throat and released her wrist, turning away from her sharply. "Insolent wench." He muttered under his breath.

Darcy took the opportunity to edge past him, trying to work her way towards the door before her mouth managed to get her into any more trouble. She had nearly succeeded when Loki materialized in front of her. He didn't touch her this time, but his eyes pinned her down with such intense fire that Darcy couldn't have moved if she tried.

"Know this," he spoke lowly, each word loaded with intent, "if you speak a word of this to Thor, I _will _kill you. Slowly and painfully until you are begging me for the sweet release of death."

Darcy swallowed roughly, her throat suddenly dry. "Slow and painful. Gotcha." She gave a fake salute.

Loki stepped aside, clearing her path to the door and Darcy gratefully took the chance to escape.

When she figured she had run far enough away, she slowed to a walk and tried to catch her breath. "Oh man, oh man, oh man..." she ran a hand through her tangled hair. "Way to almost get yourself killed, Lewis."

She fumbled in her pocket for her light ball, cupping it in her palms so it lit up the dark corridor. It took her close to half an hour to find her way to her room, then another ten minutes to work up the courage to go back into the space now knowing that Loki was still very much alive and kicking.

She eyed the bed, entertaining the idea of sleeping on the floor instead, but her weariness won out and she kicked off her shoes, crawling under the soft sheets.

This time, she didn't open her eyes until morning.

* * *

Someone was pounding on her door.

Darcy groaned and shoved her face into her pillow, mentally willing her visitor to go the hell away.

"Lady Darcy?" An unfamiliar voice came through the door, "Brunch is being served and Thor requests your presence."

Darcy's stomach growled at the mention of food. With an exaggerated sigh, she pushed herself out of bed and padded to the door, opening it to see a petite, well-dressed servant with her hands clasped primly in front of her. The girl's eyes widened slightly as she took in Darcy's disheveled appearance.

"Yeah, be right there. Thanks." Darcy rubbed the sleep from her eyes and shut the door, retreating to the ensuite bathroom to tackle the rat nest that was currently her hair.

After a bath and thorough combing of her hair, she felt much more human. Tossing her crumpled, slept-in shirt aside, Darcy opened the doors of the impressive looking wardrobe, rooting around for anything that didn't resemble one of the long formal dresses most of the palace women wore. So not her style.

She pulled out a simple black tunic, the material soft and fine between her fingers. Approving of her choice, Darcy pulled it over her head. It was a bit over-sized but not bad. She tucked some of the loose material into the waistband of her jeans, slipped her feet back into her Converse, and went to meet Thor.

"Good morning, Darcy." Thor greeted as she walked into the dining hall.

"Hey dude." Darcy slid into the empty seat to his right and eagerly started filling a plate with food. In all of the commotion of yesterday, she has never eaten dinner and now she was starving. As she dug into the fresh fruit, bread and something that looked like ham (she really hoped it was ham), Thor filled her in on the progress of Jane's condition, or rather, the lack of progress.

"Nothing has changed." He said sadly, stabbing his fork into a sausage link. "The healers have managed to stabilize her condition so she does not grow worse, but no progress has been made to reverse the damage that has already been done."

Darcy frowned, chewing her bread, "Are they out of options?" She asked worriedly.

"Aye," Thor confirmed, staring down at his plate morosely.

The food in Darcy's mouth suddenly tasted like ash. She pushed her plate away, all traces of hunger gone as Thor's sad affirmation settled like a lead weight in her belly.

After breakfast, Darcy spent some time with the still-unconscious Jane before wandering aimlessly through the hallways, killing time before lunch. She was sick of being cooped up inside and decided it was time she set out to find an exit that would get her away from these stony walls for a while.

Up ahead, she saw a wide, curved archway that seemed to lead into an outdoor courtyard. Excited, she started towards it only to be yanked hard in the opposite direction.

"What-" A hand over her mouth cut off her exclamation as she was pulled into a small alcove in the corner of the hall.

When the hand finally lifted, she turned around to face her captor.

"Ugh, I should have known." She said, rolling her eyes at Loki.

The god in front of her stared down at her unblinkingly, his eyes wide with shock.

"What?" Darcy questioned him irritably, "You're the one who grabbed me. Now you've got nothing to say for yourself?"

"You're wearing my shirt." Loki stated plainly.

"Oh, yeah. Found it in your closet." Darcy plucked at the material of the tunic with her fingers.

"You were in my closet?" He asked, surprise written on his face.

Darcy rolled her eyes again. "Well, yeah. I am staying in your room after all."

"You're staying in my room?"

"Yes." Darcy huffed, "God. I got it from _your_ closet in _your_ room where I'm sleeping in _your_ bed. Pay attention, dude."

"My bed?" Loki rubbed his hand over his eyes, suppressing a groan.

"Now are you gonna tell me why you practically kidnapped me?" Darcy crossed her arms over her chest, looking at him expectantly.

"I had to ensure that you have not told Thor of me." He responded, matching her grumpy tone with one of his own.

"I kept my word," Darcy assured him, "but I really think you should...hey!"

In a flash of yellow light, Loki vanished right in front of her.

"Asshole." She grumbled.

A second later, Thor's voice called out from around the corner, "Darcy?"

Darcy peeked out from the alcove she still stood in. "Hey, Thor."

Thor frowned, "I thought I heard voices. What are you doing in there?"

"Um, just looking around." Darcy hedged, "And the voice you heard was probably just me talking to myself. Out loud. I do that sometimes." She cringed at the awful lie. Damn, Loki owed her big-time.

"Ah, very well." Confusion was plainly written on Thor's face but he dropped the subject. "Fayne is about to provide me with an update on Jane's condition. I thought you might like to come along."

* * *

The prognosis was not good, according to Fayne.

Darcy rubbed her throbbing temples. She was tired of hearing the same bad news over and over again.

"Our magic is already severely depleted and it is barely doing Lady Jane any good." Fayne explained, using her hands to pull up various charts and graphs on her hologram screen which she showed to Thor.

"So she's basically a vegetable." Darcy said bluntly.

Both Thor and Fayne looked at her confusedly.

"It means she's alive but she'll never wake up, never really be herself again." Darcy tried to explain.

Fayne nodded, "That is an apt description. I am sorry to have to give you such news. I will give you both some time alone." She briefly touched Thor's arm in a gesture of sympathy before quietly exiting the room.

"What now?" Darcy asked as she and Thor stood over Jane's prone form.

Thor didn't answer for a long time.

"I do not know." He finally admitted, sounding defeated. "If only my brother were here." His expression was full of sad nostalgia, "Loki held the most powerful magic I have ever seen. Surely he could save Jane."

"Yeah, if only..." Darcy bit her lip, trying to keep her face expressionless while her mind went into overdrive, a plan quickly falling into place. It was rash, it was dangerous, it was quite possible the stupidest thing she had ever done in her life.

But it might be their only hope.

* * *

It was well past midnight when Darcy snuck into the king's chambers.

When she entered the room, she wandered past the sleeping form of the real Odin and found Loki sitting in front of a fireplace in the corner, a large tome open in his lap.

"You're not wearing your disguise," She commented, leaning against the wall and crossing her arms casually.

"I saw no need. I knew it was you outside my door." Loki barely spared her a glance, his fingers sliding over the aging paper of the book to flip its pages, "You are far louder and much less graceful than any Aesir."

Darcy snorted, "Wow, thanks. So I take it you know why I'm here, right?"

"Indeed I do," Loki snapped the book shut and set it aside. He stretched in his chair languidly, legs open and a smirk playing at his lips, "and my answer is no."

Darcy's eyes unintentionally drifted down to his crotch before she quickly snapped them back up to focus on his face. He was purposely trying to distract her and much to her annoyance, it was working.

Loki noticed her eyes straying and his smirk grew wider. "Tell me, Darcy," her name rolled off his tongue as sweet as honey, "did you truly expect me to aid in your little crusade? If so, you're far stupider than I first thought."

"Hey!" Darcy cried, "It's one thing to call me loud and ungraceful - cause that's all kind of true - but I'm not stupid!"

"Alright then," Loki settled back in his chair looking amused, "do tell: why should I agree to help you?"

"Because you would be doing something nice for Thor, and frankly dude, you could use the karma points. I mean, your brother grieved over your supposed death _twice_ and now you're secretly impersonating your father who's in some freaky-ass sleep coma." She stopped to take a breath, "Also, you nearly killed me and Jane with your giant robot of doom in New Mexico. You totally owe us a favor." Darcy finished.

"That's it? Those are your reasons?" Loki looked at her with mild disgust, "You thought that _sentiment,_" he spat the word as if it left a foul taste on his tongue, "would influence me?"

"Oops, almost forgot I've got one more reason," Darcy ignored his comment, walking closer to his chair and looking him straight in the eye, "If you don't help us, I'll start screaming for Thor right now. Not only will he find out you're alive, but he'll find me in your bedroom in the middle of the night, screaming bloody murder. Obviously that doesn't look good for you. It'll probably be a quick trip to the dungeons after that, assuming, of course, that they don't just execute you for the whole 'impersonating the king' thing."

Loki stood, advancing on her slowly like a panther stalking its prey, "Blackmail? I'm impressed," he purred, "but you think you could alert Thor before I silence you?"

Darcy held her ground, raising her chin defiantly, "Are you willing to risk me trying?"

Loki held her gaze for a long time and Darcy had to ball her hands into fists to hide the fact that they were shaking.

"Please," she said, her voice breaking softly as she stared up at him, "Jane's my friend and I don't want her to die. You're the only one who can fix her. Do you want me to beg? Because I'll beg."

She was willing to do anything at this point. Loki was Jane's only hope and if he wouldn't heal her...

Darcy swallowed hard, not wanting to finish that train of thought.

Finally Loki looked away, being the first to break their eye contact. "Fine," he spat, "but under the condition that you do not tell Thor. I will reveal myself to him as I see fit."

Darcy felt her shoulders sag with relief. "Okay."

"There is just one last detail." Loki added with a menacing smile that made Darcy's blood run cold, "My services are not free. If I am to help you, I expect something in return."

"Um, what's that?" Darcy asked hesitantly.

"A life for a life, Darcy Lewis. If I save your Foster woman, you must vow to remain on Asgard as my..._companion_." He smiled widely, flashing his teeth.

"Your what-now?" Darcy choked out, desperately hoping that she'd misheard him.

"It can be quite dull masquerading as Odin," Loki explained, that damned grin still in place, "I could use a new play thing."

"_Play thing_?!" Darcy's voice was a whole octave higher than normal. The words 'fuck off' were on the tip of her tongue but she forced them down painfully when she thought of Jane laying pale and still in the infirmary.

"Of course, there is a chance that my magic will not be enough to undo the damage already done to her body." Loki continued casually, "In that case, should Miss Foster die, you will be freed from our contract."

Darcy chewed her lip, her mind racing as she considered Loki's proposal. To say yes would essentially be signing her death sentence. To say no would leave her riddled with guilt for the rest of her life, knowing that she had the means to help Jane but she didn't do it.

God, was she really considering saying yes? Had she hit her head crossing that psychedelic rainbow bridge with Thor? She must have. A concussion would explain why she was acting even more banana-balls than Erik.

"Deal." She stuck out her hand.

Loki stared at her outstretched arm before finally grasping her hand for a quick shake. His grip was warm and solid, though his touch was far softer than Darcy had expected. A spark of energy seemed to pass between them, like a static shock. Darcy jumped a little in surprise, looking down at their joined hands.

"Our agreement has been sealed with magic." Loki explained, "There is no backing out now. If I succeed in healing the Foster woman, you will physically be unable to leave Asgard."

As Loki pulled his hand away, the pads of his fingers slid over her knuckles almost like a caress. Darcy suppressed a shiver.

"Until tomorrow, Darcy." He inclined his head in a brief nod.

Realizing that she'd been dismissed, and not eager to spend any more time alone with him, Darcy retreated to the door. As she pulled it open, she looked back over her shoulder to find Loki watching her intently with dark eyes.

"Um, 'night." She called out before slipping out of the room and pulling her trusty light orb out of her pocket. She used it to navigate the series of hallways and stairwells that led back to her chambers, her heart pounding the whole time as she wondered just what the hell she had gotten herself into.

Once inside her room, Darcy threw herself down onto the bed. All her earlier adrenaline was gone, leaving her mentally and physically exhausted.

Despite her tiredness, she couldn't sleep. Not after making that deal.

She lay on her side with her knees drawn up to her chest, cradling her light ball in her hands and watching it pulse with soothing pale light.

"What did I do?" she whispered to the silent room. _Loki's _room.

Unsurprisingly, she received no answer.


	3. Chapter 3

Thanks so, so much for your great responses to the first two chapters! When I started writing this fic, the first question I asked myself was 'how soon can I work in some sexy times?' The answer, apparently, is in three chapters. So yeah...smut ahead!

* * *

It was not hard to tell when Loki chose to reveal himself to Thor.

Darcy was relaxing on the balcony of her bedroom, looking at an old children's book of Asgardian fairytales she had found hidden away in the back of Loki's bookshelf when a massive crash sounded through the palace.

"Oh boy." She set the book down and went to the door, poking her head out into the hallway.

People weren't running down the halls screaming, so she figured things couldn't have gone all that badly.

She padded down the hall until she reached Thor's room where she could hear loud voices filtering through the thick wooden doors. Darcy knocked then opened the door and peeked into the room warily.

"Hey, big guy. You okay?" She stepped inside, shutting the door behind her. She had to step around a large pile of splintered wood on the floor that, at one time, had been a desk before either Thor or Loki took their anger out on it. Now it was kindling. That must have been the crash she'd heard.

Darcy's eyes involuntarily went to Loki first. He stood behind Thor with his fists clenched and his face flushed with anger. His eyes looked shiny, almost like he was close to tears.

Darcy suddenly felt like she was intruding on a very private moment. "Um, I can go..." she hooked a thumb towards the door.

"No, it's fine Darcy." Thor rubbed his hand over his scruffy blonde beard, "Now is as good a time as any to introduce you to my brother, Loki."

"Loki?" Darcy tried to look surprised. Oh shit. Was she supposed to lie and pretend she had never met him before?

She looked at the trickster, widening her eyes as if to say '_what do I do?_'

"A pleasure to meet you, Darcy." Loki's voice was dripping with false sincerity.

Ah, yep. Lying it was then.

"Um, same here." She drew her eyebrows together as she looked over at Thor, "I thought he was dead."

Thor sighed, looking thoroughly exhausted, "We all thought him dead." He turned to address his brother, "I mourned you _twice_." He said, his voice breaking with emotion.

Loki said nothing, instead looking down at his feet.

"So what's going on?" Darcy asked. That was an honest question at least.

"Loki has agreed to help Jane." Thor explained, looking slightly happier at that thought.

"Awesome, what are we waiting for?!" Darcy exclaimed, heading towards the door and throwing it open with gusto. She stopped when she realized that Thor and Loki weren't following behind her.

The brothers looked at each other, sharing a tentative smile at Darcy's overflow of enthusiasm.

Thor shook his head, "I'm afraid it's more complicated than that."

"Healing the woman – _Lady Jane_," Loki hastily corrected after Thor shot him a look, "will require a great deal of energy and magic. I must prepare beforehand."

"Okay..." Darcy conceded, "and exactly how long will that take?"

"Assuming all necessary supplies are fully stocked within the palace, a week." Loki said, "Longer if I need to travel to retrieve the proper materials."

"A week or longer?" Darcy whined, leaning dejectedly against the doorframe. "We might not have that long." She looked at Thor imploringly.

"Loki is right, Darcy. This will take time, there is no helping that." Thor explained. "If you will excuse me, I should go speak with Fayne now."

Darcy nodded, giving Thor a small smile when he patted her shoulder as he passed through the doorway.

"Alone at last." Loki raised an eyebrow at Darcy.

"Ugh, shut up." Darcy pushed herself off the doorframe and stomped into the room, taking a seat on the edge of Thor's bed before she flopped backwards, arms and legs splayed out starfish-style.

She was relieved that Loki had finally faced Thor, but healing Jane still seemed so far away. A week at best? Darcy felt like they were taking two steps forward and one step back.

She had always been impatient, especially when working on long, tedious research with Jane. The astrophysicist would often remind her that slow progress was better than no progress, and thinking of Jane's words now brought a small reminiscent smile to Darcy's lips.

Despite setbacks and frustration and stupid magical contracts, she would keep fighting. For Jane. Speaking of magical contracts...

"You're not going to tell Thor about our deal, are you?" Darcy asked Loki after a moment of silence.

"No," Loki came over to the bed, sitting on the edge of the mattress next to Darcy's thigh. "He will find out soon enough after I heal the Foster woman and you do not return to Midgard with her."

"Can you really do it?" Darcy turned her head and looked up at Loki's face, "You sound pretty confident but are you sure you can heal Jane?"

Loki nodded, "It can be done." He said surely. "A better question would be: when I do, will you be ready to assume your new role, my pet?"

He reached out, threading his fingers through the curly ends of Darcy's hair.

"Hmm." Darcy hummed noncommittally, briefly closing her eyes. She didn't want to think about that right now, she'd rather live in denial a little longer.

Loki's fingertips brushed the side of her neck and Darcy let out a relaxed (and utterly embarrassing) breathy exhale. After hearing herself make the noise, her eyes popped open and she scrambled off the mattress.

Loki chuckled lowly, letting his hand drop into his lap. He brushed some invisible lint off his pant legs before standing, "I suppose I should begin my preparations now, since you are so eager to save your lady of science."

"Yeah," Darcy chewed her lip, her eyes following the movement of his hand as she remembered how nice it had felt on her skin just moments before.

Loki brushed past her as he left the room, close enough that their shoulders bumped and Darcy inhaled sharply at the contact.

Once she was alone, Darcy plopped back down onto the bed, dropping her head into her hands with a groan as she cursed her traitorous body.

She was attracted to Loki.

She was well and truly screwed.

* * *

The week moved agonizingly slow for Darcy.

Only two days had passed since Loki has begun preparing the spell that would heal Jane. Thor had his princely duties to keep him busy but for Darcy, there was nothing to do but wait. Out of boredom, she had begun following Loki around and pestering him while he worked.

He had a strange magnetism that Darcy couldn't help being drawn to. Some days he was pure charm and other days he was dangerous and bitter, the same God she had experienced firsthand in New Mexico and seen shaky news camera footage of in New York while she and Jane were half a world away in Tromsø.

He intrigued her, and, judging from the amount of times Darcy had caught him staring at her when he thought she wasn't looking, the feeling was mutual. In fact, Loki seemed to actually enjoy (or at the very least, tolerate) her company. Darcy just hoped that her novelty wouldn't wear off anytime soon and Loki would decide that she was more trouble than she was worth.

On this particular afternoon, Loki was picking small needles off a sprig of greenery while sitting on Darcy's, or rather, _his _bed.

The rest of the palace didn't know that he was still alive, so unless he was wearing Odin's features, he was confined to Darcy's room or the Allfather's chambers. It had surprisingly been Thor's idea not to tell anyone about Loki. Jane's health was his priority right now and the healing spell wouldn't do her much good if Loki was stuck in a prison cell, unable to perform the required magic.

Darcy lay across from him on the opposite side of the bed, sprawled out on her stomach and propped up on her elbows as she flipped through one of Loki's spellbooks.

"I don't understand any of this," she complained, closing the book and resting her cheek on the soft leather cover.

"No, I suppose you wouldn't," Loki replied distractedly as he dropped each tiny individual needle into a glass vial.

They fell into an easy silence, Loki working away while Darcy watched him. It was a little frightening (okay, _a lot_ frightening) how comfortable she had become in his presence in just a few short days.

After all, he was a centuries-old, nearly immortal being. He had seen and done things in his lifetime that Darcy could never imagine in her wildest dreams. He was sharp, cunning, and the most intelligent person Darcy had ever met. When she stepped back and took a hard look at her current situation, it was kind of mind-blowing. For that reason, she chose not to do any hard looking at all. Had she mentioned how great denial was?

"So what does that stuff do?" Darcy finally spoke, breaking the silence.

"This is _valetudinem __restitueret_," Loki said, holding up a twig of something that looked like rosemary to Darcy. "It quite literally translates to 'health restorer'. An elixir made of this, combined with my spell, shall rejuvenate the heart of your Miss Foster."

"Nifty." Darcy commented, "So how many more days 'till we heal Jane?"

Loki sighed, his focus not shifting from the twig and vial in his hands. "Five days, Darcy. The same amount as when you last asked an hour ago. The process cannot be rushed."

"I know, I know." Darcy pushed the spellbook away and sat up on the bed, sitting cross-legged as she faced Loki. "It's just annoying, you know? You've got the spell to work on, Thor's got like, 48 realms to protect, and I'm just sitting here being useless."

"Nine realms." Loki never missed an opportunity to correct her horrid knowledge of Yggdrasil, "You must have patience, my pet." He corked the glass vial and stood, moving to set the supplies on a small desk in the corner of the room.

"Patience is the worst." Darcy complained, reaching under her pillow to retrieve her light ball from where she kept it tucked away safely.

It flickered to life in her hands and she started rolling it back and forth along the bedspread, playing with it half-heartedly.

"Yes, well-" Whatever Loki had been about to say was forgotten when he noticed the orb. "Where did you get that?" He asked, eyes narrowing suspiciously.

"Here in your room." Darcy replied, tapping her fingertip on the ball so the light flickered on and off in a rhythmic beat. "What is it anyway? I've been using it as a flashlight."

"It is a light sphere." Loki confirmed, holding out his hand expectantly.

Darcy had grown pretty fond of the little toy so with great reluctance she handed it over to him.

Loki took a seat next to her on the mattress. In his hands, the sphere glowed a bright, clear emerald green.

"Woah," Darcy scooted closer to him so she could study the light ball, "It never went green for me. The light was always white."

"It is green because it recognizes its creator." Loki said, smiling almost fondly at the little ball. "This was one of the first spells I learned as a boy."

Darcy blinked at him, "You made this?"

"Indeed I did. Many a century ago." Loki turned the ball over in his hands, studying it. "I must say, it has held up remarkably well after all these years."

"So I guess you want it back then, huh?" Darcy bit her lip, frowning slightly.

Loki reached over and picked up her hand from where it rested on her knee. He pressed the orb into her palm, their combined touches making the light shimmer into a shade of pale green that seemed to encompass the whole room, turning everything a soft mint colour.

When Darcy looked up, she found Loki's face incredibly close to hers. He was still looking down at the orb that was resting between their hands. The pale light reflected off his smooth skin, highlighting his straight nose and full bottom lip. Darcy very badly wanted to lean in and taste it.

"Keep it." Loki said quietly, raising his eyes to meet Darcy's. She inhaled sharply, feeling a jolt of some unknown emotion run through her when his eyes locked on hers.

"Green suits you." He commented with a small trace of a smile as his eyes roved over her face lit by the soft green light.

"Thank you." She whispered back, staring at him unashamedly. They were so close that she could see every one of the dark eyelashes framing his incredible eyes.

Their breath mingled together, her exhale becoming his inhale, and Darcy unconsciously licked her lips, wanting to close the distance between them.

A knock at the door interrupted them.

The light orb fell from their hands, landing on the mattress and returning the room to its regular state of light.

"Lady Darcy?" A female voice carried through the door. One of the palace servants, Darcy supposed. "Dinner is being served."

"'Kay, thanks." Darcy called back, disappointed to see that Loki had stood from the bed and put his Odin face back into place.

"Tomorrow I will need to consult some texts from the library in order to prepare my spell. Would you...like to assist me?" He asked a bit awkwardly.

Darcy tried to contain her grin and failed spectacularly. "Yeah. Meet you there after breakfast?"

'Odin' nodded before disappearing from the room.

Darcy looked down at the light ball resting beside her knee. She could see her goofy smile reflected back at her on the clear, smooth surface. She picked up the ball, hugging it to her chest as she imagined a little ten-year old Loki creating spells to illuminate the orb.

His very first successful spell and now he had told Darcy to keep it. What did that mean?

Darcy sighed and shoved the orb back under her pillow. She would have dinner with Thor then spend the evening at Jane's bedside. There would be plenty of time to analyze Loki's words later.

* * *

She hadn't been able to sleep.

Darcy was too full of restless energy and worry over how much more time Jane had left. Although Loki kept assuring her that he was doing everything he could to speed up the process, to Darcy it still seemed like an awfully long wait until the healing spell would be ready.

Thanks to her over-active mind, Darcy currently found herself roaming the dark, deserted palace hallways in the wee hours of the morning as she tried to clear her head.

She had been given a proper nightgown and some other fresh clothing from one of the palace chambermaids, but the high collars and long hemlines were uncomfortable and itchy against her skin. Darcy much preferred rifling through Loki's closet. Plus, she loved the irritated looks he'd give her whenever she wore a piece of his clothing.

Tonight she was barefoot, clad in nothing but an oversized white linen shirt of Loki's. Despite everything being made of stone, the palace seemed to stay quite warm at night so she decided there was no point in changing into her heavy jeans. The shirt fell to mid-thigh and the material was thick enough to not be embarrassingly see-through should she run into anyone in the halls.

She rubbed the fabric absently between her fingers. It was soft and well worn, making Darcy wonder if this shirt had been a favourite of Loki's.

That thought had her blushing unexpectedly and for an instant, she had a wild, irrational hope that she would run into him tonight. Darcy snorted, shaking her head in disbelief. Since when did she start _wishing_ to see him? Usually Loki popped up at the worst of times, like an annoying pimple. Or a bad STD.

Darcy snickered to herself. She'd have to remember that little gem of an insult.

"You should not be wandering alone so late at night." A voice spoke directly over her shoulder, making Darcy jump and let out a sharp squeak of surprise.

She whirled around to find Loki standing behind her, a smirk playing at his lips. Speak of the devil.

"Fucking hell," Darcy breathed deeply, trying to calm her racing heart, "You scared the ever loving shit out of me."

"Truly a wonder how such vulgar words can fall from such sweet lips." Loki commented, advancing towards her slowly.

"Careful, you almost paid me a compliment," Darcy said sardonically, crossing her arms over her chest and causing the bottom of her shirt to ride up a little.

She saw Loki's eyes follow the movement of the fabric, his gaze sweeping over her bare legs and moving upwards to settle on her face. Darcy felt her cheeks heat under his scrutiny.

"You have been in my wardrobe again." He stated, his Adam's apple bobbing as he visibly swallowed.

"Yeppers." Darcy felt a tiny swell of pride when she saw how uncomfortable he looked. "So why are you creeping around so late?" she questioned.

"Odin's presence was required at a diplomacy meeting between Asgard and Vanaheim. It ran much later than I had hoped." Loki rubbed his jaw, looking pale and tired.

"You can't do this forever." Darcy chided him. "As soon as Jane's better, you've got to-"

"Enough." Loki practically snarled, "I do not need to take advice from the likes of you." He ran a hand through his hair, the gesture full of frustration and confusion, as he began to pace the hallway.

"Oh my God," Darcy breathed as understanding dawned on her, "You don't have a plan, do you? You're in way over your head with this Odin thing."

Loki's head snapped up at that. He stalked towards her, backing Darcy against the wall as the palm of his hand slammed down on the stone just inches from her head.

She bit her lip hard, trying not to jump in surprise. Her bravery was the only thing that gave her any degree of control when it came to Loki.

"Mind your tongue." Loki warned darkly. "Remember that you speak to a king."

Darcy snorted, "You're nothing but a fraud."

Loki's jaw ticked with barely restrained anger and a full-body shiver passed through Darcy. She couldn't tell if it was fear or something else.

"I could kill you right now," he mused softly, reaching out and running his fingers down the column of her throat, "Snap that delicate little neck of yours right in half."

"You won't," She countered, sounding far more confident than she actually felt.

"And why is that?" Loki murmured, leaning closer.

"You need me as part of our contract. Sealed with magic, right?" Darcy's heart was hammering wildly in her chest as the rational part of her brain was telling her to back down now and return to the safety of her room.

Naturally, she ignored it.

Loki smiled, a feral flash of his teeth. "I believe we've reached a stalemate then, because you, too, need me."

Darcy pressed her lips together firmly, annoyed that he was right.

"Oh come now. Don't pout, my pet." Loki said in a condescending tone, running his thumb along the side of Darcy's clenched jaw.

"I'm not your pet." She bit out, fed up with the patronizing nickname.

"Ah, but you do desire me, do you not?" Loki leaned in, placing his other palm on the opposite side of Darcy's head, effectively trapping her between the wall and his body.

On instinct she recoiled, pressing her back into the cool, rough stone behind her. Darcy wet her lips, wondering whether she could out-lie the God of Lies.

"No."

Loki laughed, a hearty, rich sound that wrapped around Darcy like a warm blanket. "You have much to learn about lies and deceit, sweet Darcy."

He was standing too close and it was making her feel dizzy. The smell of leather and spice surrounded her and she could almost feel the heat radiating off his body despite that ridiculous heavy leather coat he wore.

"So I'm not the greatest liar," Darcy said with a shrug of her shoulders. "You know, I think that says a lot about someone's character, how easily they can lie without feeling a speck of regret." She lifted her gaze, staring at Loki challengingly.

"My, my, you are a brave little thing." Loki's eyes roved over her appreciatively as a small smile tugged at the corner of his lips.

The tone of his voice sent shivers of pleasure through her body. Call it stress or lack of sleep, but she wanted him. _Badly_.

"Brave and very, very stupid." Darcy said under her breath as the last of her willpower snapped and she pushed herself off the wall.

Instead of slipping past him and running away like any rational person would have done, she surged forward and slammed her mouth against his.

Loki didn't respond immediately and Darcy thought she might have broken his brain. After a moment, his lips moved against hers and his hands grabbed at her hips, his fingers digging into her skin.

"We do this my way." Darcy announced, panting once they had separated for air, "With me you're no would-be king, entitled prince, or freaky space god. Got it?"

Loki studied her face for a minute and Darcy could see his mind working as his desire to always be in control warred with his sexual desire for her.

He seemed to come to a conclusion then, briefly nodding his head before his hands closed around the backs of her thighs, easily picking her up and backing her further against the wall.

Darcy wrapped her legs around his hips to keep from slipping. In her current position, his arousal was hard and hot against her.

It was wrong on so many levels, Darcy thought as Loki captured her lips in a bruising kiss. She was heading down a dangerous road from which there was no going back. At the moment though, she really didn't give a damn.

Her mother had always said, in that fond, exasperated mom tone, that Darcy was born with too much backbone and not enough control to care. That was proving to be truer than Darcy could had ever imagined.

Loki's touch set her skin on fire, kindling a fire low in her belly that sent desire humming through her veins. Darcy briefly wondered if he was using some kind of weird magic on her, or if this was just her body's natural response to him.

When she wiggled her lips, grinding herself against his erection, she got her answer. Loki gave a strangled groan, his grip tightening almost painfully on her thighs, and Darcy knew that their attraction was all natural and _very_ mutual.

"Take your coat off." She murmured against his lips.

With one quick movement of his hand, Loki's coat was on the floor.

Darcy blinked, staring down at the pile of leather. "Well, that's handy."

"One of the many wonders of magic." Loki said dryly, undoing the clasp on his trousers with one hand while the other continued to supported her weight.

He let his pants drop before hiking Darcy's shirt up around her waist, his breath catching when he found that she was bare underneath.

"It is not enough to tempt me in my shirt, but you must also wear nothing beneath it?" He growled lowly.

She opened her mouth to reply, but any response was cut off as Loki guided himself into her in one long, slow movement.

Darcy moaned throatily. It felt _so good_.

She moved her hips, trying desperately to buck against him and relieve the ache between her legs.

Loki squeezed her ass roughly, halting her movements. "Not yet." His voice sounded strained to Darcy's ears.

Darcy suppressed a grin. Apparently, it had been a while since Little Loki had seen any action and he was quite overeager.

As she waited, she ran her hands through his hair, liking the way it looked when it fell into his eyes messily. Her fingernails ran lightly down the back of his neck and Darcy was rewarded with a low groan from Loki.

"Now?" She questioned when she felt him start to move against her.

"Now." He confirmed, his voice ragged with want.

She moved her hips, matching him thrust for thrust as her head spun with the craziness of her situation. She was having rough and rushed against-the-wall sex with the supposedly dead and morally ambiguous little brother of Thor. And she liked it. _A lot_.

Loki's pace was hard and desperate. Darcy clutched the back of his shirt with both hands, trying to anchor herself to him. It felt like her body was about to explode into a million pieces and fly away.

They didn't speak; the sound of their bodies meeting and their uneven panting being the only noise in the otherwise silent hallway. It was hurried and inelegant and the best sex of Darcy's life.

She felt her orgasm building steadily, letting out a small whimper of pleasure as Loki changed angles, driving into her deeper. She closed her eyes momentarily, trying to stave off her impending release. She didn't want it to end. Not yet.

When Darcy re-opened her eyes, Loki locked gazes with her, his eyes a stormy mix of blue-green while his pupils were large and burning dark with desire. The sight took her breath away and she tightened her thighs around his waist as a full body shiver passed through her, making her gasp.

"Yes...come apart for me, Darcy." Loki coaxed, his voice low and sexy in her ear.

That was all the encouragement she needed. Her orgasm came with a sudden violence and she pressed her face against Loki's shoulder, trying to muffle her loud cry of pleasure.

Loki wasn't far behind her. His movements became quick and erratic as he thrust into her deeply once, twice, and then came with a low hiss of pleasure.

They caught their breath, staring at each other a bit dazedly before Loki slowly pulled out.

"Can you stand?" He murmured almost gently.

Darcy nodded, "Yeah," she managed, her voice a bit husky. She lowered her legs from around his waist and brushed her damp, sweaty hair off her neck.

Loki quickly released his hold on her and buttoned up his pants before snatching his coat from the floor.

"You should return to your room." He said, his voice oddly neutral as he pushed his arm through one of the leather sleeves, "All sorts of dangers roam these hallways at night. You never know who you may meet."

Darcy smoothed down her over-sized shirt, tugging at the hem to make sure it covered everything, "Yeah, like you?" She asked playfully.

Her comment received no reply and sure enough, when she looked up, Loki had vanished.


	4. Chapter 4

This is a long one, I hope you like it! I don't usually do song recommendations but I listened to The Balcony by The Rumour Said Fire about a dozen times while writing this chapter. In fact, these lyrics inspired this entire fic:

_I can sense a world of heartache_ _but I love the sound_  
_ Of your hair when it falls down_ _from the pillow late at night_  
_ On the brink of illusion_ _it's the devil in my eyes_  
_ Waiting for the moment to kill me inside_  
_ How we'd love to die more often_

As always, thanks for your reviews and favourites!

* * *

She'd been stood up.

Darcy wasn't all that surprised really, especially after the events of last night and Loki's hasty departure. Her body flushed as she recalled the feeling of his hands on her skin, his mouth hot and needy against hers.

Shaking off the memory, she looked around the expansive library she stood in.

"Asshole," she spoke aloud to the empty room, "wherever you are, you'd better be working on Jane's spell."

Since she had nothing better to do, Darcy figured she might as well snoop around and do a little reading. The sheer volume of books in the room made her want to drool. Darcy had always been a reader. Fantasy, crime, non-fiction; she dabbled in a little bit of everything.

She wandered through the tall, winding shelves, studying the hundreds and hundreds of thick, leather-bound books. They all contained some strange symbolic writing she didn't understand. After some time, Darcy finally found a section of the room housing books in English. She gathered a few titles that sounded interesting, setting her armload of reading material on the long, boardroom-style table that sat in the middle of the library.

A Complete History of Asgard, Fables and Fiction of the Nine Realms, and Magical Enchantments for Beginners were her selections. Darcy picked up the enchantment book first, hoping it might contain the light spell that Loki had learned as a kid. She plopped down into a plush chair next to the window and opened the book, crinkling her nose a little when she was hit by an old, musty smell.

She read for a few hours before her eyes started blurring with tiredness and the complex, old-timey English writing became too difficult to understand. Darcy stretched, feeling something in her back pop, before she threw her legs over the arm of the chair and reclined, closing her eyes. There was a perfect beam of afternoon light shining through the window and warming her. She'd just take a little cat nap.

When she reopened her eyes an hour later, she found Loki looming over her.

"Fuck!" She jolted fully awake, nearly falling out of the chair, "Were you watching me sleep?"

"Did you wait for me all morning?" Loki asked, pointedly ignoring her question.

"No." Darcy said sharply, closing the heavy book that was still open in her lap. "I was _not_ waiting for you. I just wanted to see the library."

"I see." Loki said, though the tone of his voice implied that he didn't believe her.

Darcy moved from her reclined position, letting her feet drop down onto the floor. She studied Loki furtively, seeing that he looked just as tired and haggard as he did the previous night. Dark smudges under his eyes told her that he had obviously not slept.

Darcy bit the inside of her cheek to keep herself from rehashing their last discussion about Loki's lack of a plan. How much longer could he keep playing Allfather before exhaustion and stress made him inevitably screw it all up?

Still, Darcy couldn't help but bring up his appearance, "You're looking rough, dude. Are you sure you're gonna have enough energy to do Jane's healing spell?"

Loki looked down at her, raising his eyebrow in a haughty expression, "You question my abilities? I have more power in a single finger than any mortal could ever hope to comprehend within their measly lifetime."

"Just asking. Sheesh." Darcy stood, raising her arms up over her head to stretch out her stiff muscles.

She saw Loki's eyes follow the movement, his gaze narrowing in on the small strip of her stomach exposed by her raised shirt. His eyes darkened and Darcy held back a smirk. Nice to see that he hadn't completely forgotten about last night.

"So what's on the agenda today?" She asked, dropping her arms and letting them swing loosely at her sides.

"I must travel to Nornheim." Loki stated simply.

"Noon-ham?" Darcy scrunched up her face as she awkwardly pronounced the word, "Why? What's there?"

"A specially charmed stone bowl created by Nornheim's native race, the Rock Trolls. I believe you Midgardians would call it a mortar and pestle." Loki looked at Darcy for confirmation and when she nodded, he continued, "Once I mix the healing elixir in that bowl, the remainder of the spell will be quite simple. I will need only to prepare myself mentally and physically for the amount of magic I will be expending."

"Great," Darcy clapped her hands together with excitement. Finally it seemed like they were making progress. "Can I come with?"

The look Loki gave her was shocked and incredulous, "Absolutely not."

"Awwww..." Darcy whined, "Seriously, you can't tell me that _magical rock trolls_ exist and then not let me see them!"

Loki's mouth was set in a hard line as he shook his head at her. "You will only get in my way."

"Please, Loki? Please please _pleeeeeease_?" Darcy begged, clasping her hands together under her chin in a pleading gesture. "I won't say a word and I'll be glued to your side the entire time."

Loki exhaled loudly, running a hand through his dark hair. "If I say yes, will you quit your blasted whining?"

Darcy nodded eagerly, making a show of keeping her mouth shut.

"Fine then." Loki muttered, "We must leave immediately. The moon cycle on Nornheim is different than Asgard; it will be close to nightfall before long and we will not want to remain in Nornheim once the sun has set."

The ominous tone of his voice made Darcy shiver. "Okay. Noon-ham at night equals bad. So do we take horses, or..." she trailed off when she saw Loki smile wickedly.

"For that," he replied, "we use magic. Come here." He opened his arms and Darcy awkwardly stepped into his embrace, feeling her face flush at the contact.

"Suddenly shy, are we?" Loki's voice was teasing before it grew gravely serious, "Hold on to me tightly and do not let go. You could be lost between realms and then even I would not be able to find you."

"Well, _that_ doesn't at all sound terrifying." Darcy commented sarcastically as she wrapped her arms securely around Loki's waist. He was thin enough that she was able to lock her hands together behind his back, keeping herself firmly attached to him.

Loki's arms wound around her shoulders and he pulled her into his chest tightly. Every inch of Darcy was plastered against him and it would have been kind of hot if it weren't for her fear of that whole 'possibly being lost in space' thing.

"Ready?" He asked, his voice sounding very deep and rumbling with Darcy pressed so close to his chest.

"Ready." Darcy confirmed, tucking her head under his chin. She could hear his heart beating strong and steady. The noise was oddly comforting.

"Off we go." There was a hint of excitement in Loki's voice but before Darcy could register it, she felt her whole body start to fizzle like she'd just jumped into a swimming pool full of soda. She buried her face in the fabric of Loki's shirt while she literally hung onto him for dear life.

Teleportation was a weird and highly uncomfortable sensation. Darcy much preferred the fun lights of her Bifrost trip with Thor. She squeezed her eyes shut, hoping it would be over soon.

A moment later, Loki spoke.

"Darcy?" His voice was tinged with amusement, "We have arrived. Perhaps you could loosen your hold and allow me to breathe?"

* * *

The rock trolls were not at all what Darcy had expected. She imagined short, happy little beings with mushrooms growing on their backs. Instead, she was greeted by a burly, seven foot tall Neanderthal with skin as rough and coarse as sandpaper. Damn Disney for giving her unrealistic expectations.

"Loki Odinson. What brings a prince of Asgard to our humble realm?" The troll spoke in a deep, heavily accented voice and Darcy couldn't tell if he was being sincere or mocking.

"I am no Odinson." Loki replied, raising his eyebrows slightly, "Surely news of my lineage has travelled to you by now, Murin?"

The troll waved his hand and the sound of rock grating against rock made Darcy cringe, "We do not concern ourselves with such gossip."

Loki nodded, looking slightly relieved, "I seek a charmed mortar for use in a healing spell."

"There is time for business later." Murin's thick neck turned slowly until his gaze settled on Darcy, "First, I wish to know about your companion. She is not Aesir, of that I am sure."

Darcy opened her mouth but Loki was quick to elbow her in the side, a silent reminder that she was supposed to keep her trap shut.

"She is of Midgard." Loki confirmed, easily weaving a lie with a few small truths scattered within, "She made the foolish mistake of entering into a contract with me which she later forfeited. Her punishment is now to be my personal attendant."

"Does she have a name?" Murin tilted his head, looking at Darcy curiously.

"I suppose she did at one time, though I simply call her 'the girl'." Loki and the troll shared a laugh over that and Darcy clenched her fists, trying to keep her anger in check.

"A mortar, you say?" Murin turned his bulky body, moving slowly towards the mud hut behind him. "I believe I have just the thing."

Darcy grabbed Loki's arm before he could follow the troll, "What was that?" She whispered angrily.

"I know what I am doing, Darcy," Loki spoke under his breath, keeping a careful eye on Murin in the distance. "Trust me."

Trust.

That was a whole can of worms Darcy definitely wasn't going to open up right now.

She reluctantly let go of Loki's arm, following behind him like a good little servant as they approached Murin's hut.

Inside the small home was damp and dark. A fine layer of sandy grit seemed to cover everything and Darcy could already feel her eyes itching from it. She couldn't wait to take a bath once they got back to Asgard.

Murin was rooting through a collection of bottles and dishes that sat on a rickety wooden shelf attached to the wall. It looked like the poor old shelf would collapse at any minute.

"This should do nicely." He handed Loki a small stone dish.

Loki inspected the bowl, slowly turning it over in his hands. "Yes, I believe it will. I have brought you payment in return." He reached into the top of his boot, extracting a short and dangerous looking pickaxe.

Darcy's eyes widened. Had that been in there the whole time? How did he not slice his foot off?

While the trickster and the troll made their exchange, Darcy's attention wandered to the interior of the small hut. There wasn't much to see: a small kitchen area that looked like it has been chiseled out of the wall and a ratty looking curtain hanging behind Loki and Murin, probably hiding a bedroom or bathroom. Did rock trolls have indoor plumbing?

Darcy sighed, shifting on her feet. Great. Now she had to pee.

She was trying to decide how long she could hold it for when she noticed the curtain move slightly. Weird. Was there someone in there? The hut didn't look big enough to house a whole family.

The curtain moved again and this time, Darcy caught a glimpse of coarse sandpaper skin. So there was someone hiding behind there, but why?

Darcy's stomach knotted as a bad feeling settled in her gut. She inched towards the curtain slowly as Loki and Murin continued their conversation, unaware of her. They were probably still laughing it up over how weak and dumb she was. _Ha ha._

She was just about to reach for the curtain when the body behind it moved, racing forward and almost knocking Darcy off her feet.

It was another troll and in his hand he held a long silver dagger. As he began to approach Loki from behind, Darcy's eyes widened.

"Loki!" She called out, her voice panicked. She looked around her, quickly grabbing the closest thing she could find: a large ceramic plate. Trying to remember everything her dad had taught her about pitching softball as a kid, she hurled the plate at the troll with all her strength.

It hit him square in the back of the head, breaking with a loud _crack_.

The troll turned around slowly, his beady, black eyes zeroing in on Darcy. He growled and raised his dagger at her.

"Oh, fuck." Darcy cringed, lifting her arms to protect her face, but no attack came.

When she looked up, she saw that Loki was already fighting the troll with a dagger of his own. Behind him, Murin lay on the ground, badly injured as thick, dark blood ran out of a gash in his side.

"An ambush, Murin? Really?" Loki ducked, narrowly avoiding a hit from the troll's massive stone hand.

"It was well deserved after what you did to me, _Odinson_," Murin hissed, clutching his bleeding side.

"Hah!" Loki barked out a humorless laugh.

In one quick, agile move, he spun around, grasping the troll around the neck and slicing his throat. The troll dropped to the floor and Loki stood over the body, smiling down darkly.

Darcy could do nothing but stare at the scene in front of her. Loki's hair was disheveled and there was a smear of dark troll's blood on his cheek. When he looked up at her, his eyes were wild and manic.

She swallowed hard, finally understanding all of the past warnings Jane and Erik had given her about Loki. He was quick, ruthless and seemed to take a perverse kind of pleasure in killing. It was a far cry from the Loki who had so kindly given her his light sphere just a day ago.

A loud, angry cry in the distance startled Darcy out of her thoughts.

She saw Loki quickly pocked the stone dish before craning his neck to look out the door of the hut.

"The others are coming. We have to leave. _Now_." He was breathing heavily as he expertly twirled his dagger in his hand before pocketing it.

Darcy nodded dumbly, forcing her feet forward. Her foot slipped on the blood-coated floor as she stumbled her way out of the hut. Loki caught her elbow before she fell.

"You may flee now," Murin's voice was thin and rattling behind them as he called out to Loki, "but you can never truly run from your mistakes, Loki. They will catch up to you one day. I only wish I could see that moment."

"Old fool." Loki muttered as he led Darcy away. He hid it well, but she could see that Murin's last words had an effect on him.

Feeling numb, Darcy allowed Loki to pull her along the path behind the hut. When he stopped, he slipped his arms around her, preparing to teleport.

"Hold tight, Darcy." He growled out the instructions when she didn't lift her arms.

In a mindless, mechanical motion, Darcy clasped her hands around his middle. His shirt was soaked in the blood of Murin and the other troll who had tried to kill him. It seeped into Darcy's own clothing, leaving her skin feeling hot and sticky. She suddenly wanted to throw up.

She shut her eyes tightly, making a small whimper of protest when she felt the familiar bubbly feeling of teleportation begin. Loki's hand found the back of her head, cradling it and smoothing down her hair. His efforts would have been a whole lot nicer if Darcy hadn't just witnessed him murder two giant trolls in the span of five minutes.

Instead of returning to the library, Loki transported them back to Darcy's bedroom. As soon as they arrived, she quickly extracted herself from Loki's grasp, stumbling backwards on shaky legs.

While Darcy tried to process what had just happened, Loki seemed to think that it was a fine time to unleash his anger on her.

"I told you I had everything under control!" He shouted, his eyes alight with fire.

Darcy blinked at him, her shock slowly giving way to outrage. "Oh, and was being stabbed in the back part of your master plan?" She shot back. "I was trying to help you!"

"I didn't need your help!"

"They would have _killed_ you, Loki!" Darcy exclaimed, spreading her arms out in a helpless gesture. "What was I supposed to do?"

"Most others would have watched with pleasure." Loki's voice had lost some of its edge.

"Well I'm not most others." Darcy took a deep breath, trying to control her temper. She took a tentative step towards him. "I don't exactly want you to die, okay?"

"Darcy," Loki closed the distance between them, gripping her shoulders tight enough to make her wince, "Swear to me that you will never, ever do something so incredibly stupid again." His voice was hard and serious.

"I don't regret throwing the plate." Darcy replied stubbornly.

Loki sighed, closing his eyes for a moment as he worked to control his frustration, "I am fully capable of protecting myself, but you..." his fingers tightened their hold on her, "I would not wish to see you harmed."

Darcy blinked up at him, surprised by his admission, "Really?"

"You have a contract to fulfill. I need you to at least _try _to stay alive." He added in a rude, sneering tone as he withdrew his hands from her shoulders.

"_Pfft_, whatever. Just admit it, you totally like me." Darcy grinned, poking him in the chest with her finger.

"I most certainly _do not_." Loki scoffed, staring at her as if she'd just said the most offensive thing in the world.

Darcy leaned into him, no longer caring about the blood on their clothes as she pressed her cheek against his chest, "We'll agree to disagree then."

"You are the most hopeless Midgardian I have ever had the displeasure of knowing." Loki grumbled though he didn't push her away. He stood there, stiff and awkward with Darcy resting against him.

After a moment, Darcy broke their silence, "I really need to go get cleaned up," she commented. She felt like a nasty mess and probably looked like it too.

Loki, on the other hand, looked practically edible in his leather get-up with his dirt-streaked face. Even through the drying blood and mud, Darcy noticed that he still smelled nice. Like leather and rich spices. Damn him.

"Yes," Loki cleared his throat, "I suppose I should do the same." He tried to step back but Darcy caught his arm, stopping him.

"Stay."

A look of candid surprise passed over his face before he schooled his features into a hard mask, "You shouldn't say that," he warned, his voice deep and serious, "I will ruin you, Darcy."

"Don't care," Darcy said in a nonchalant, sing-song voice, "Besides, isn't your whole plan to 'ruin' me anyway after we heal Jane? Unless you only want a woman when she's unwilling, in which case I will punch you in the face and castrate you in your sleep."

"Goodness, no." Loki looked at her with a mix of shock and revulsion, "I would never take a woman against her will. I may be a monster but I am not barbaric."

"Who said anything about a monster?" Darcy was confused by his comment, "Oh! You mean the whole Frost Giant thing, cause that doesn't sound so monstrous. It's actually pretty awesome. If I had icy super powers I'd be flaunting that shit."

Loki's eyes narrowed in anger, "Who told you? It was Thor, wasn't it? I will cut out his tongue-"

"Woah, woah." Darcy held up her hands, "First of all, that is just straight up _nasty_. No one will be cutting out anyone's tongue. Secondly, I didn't hear it from Thor. It was actually Tony Stark who told me all about your New York adoption temper tantrum. I kinda work for him now. Well, I work for Jane who works for him." Of course Darcy was 99% certain that Tony gotten his information from Thor, but she wasn't about to tell Loki that.

"Who?" Loki looked at her with a blank expression.

"Jesus, Loki." Darcy rolled her eyes toward the ceiling, "Tony Stark? Iron Man? You trashed his tower and threw him out a window? The least you could do is remember the guy's name. He's still not over that, by the way. You should really apologize. Maybe send him a fruit basket."

"Fruit...?" Loki looked thoroughly confused, "Are you always this incoherent?"

"Nope," Darcy replied with a grin, "Get a couple drinks in me and I'm even worse."

Miracle of miracles, she made Loki laugh. The sound sent shivers of delight across her skin and before Darcy could stop herself, she reached for his hand.

"C'mon. You can get cleaned up here. This is your room, after all." She tugged at his arm until he followed her into the large bathroom attached to the bedroom.

Loki stayed uncharacteristically quiet as Darcy began to strip off her muddy clothes. His eyebrows were drawn down as if he was deep in thought but Darcy didn't notice. She was too busy mourning her poor jeans that were now covered in stains. Whether it was mud or blood, she couldn't tell. She dropped them into a pile on the floor before unclasping her bra and wiggling out of her panties.

Calling the bath a 'tub' would be an understatement. It was large and circular, built into the floor and about the size of the Jacuzzi Darcy had used the last time she stayed at a decent hotel which, on her old intern's budget, wasn't often.

She stepped up the smooth stone steps and dipped her feet into the water. How it managed to stay warm all day long, she had no idea. Just another perk of Asgard, she supposed.

Darcy took off her glasses, setting them beside the tub before she totally submerged herself in the warm water, scrubbing the sweat and grime from her face.

She heard the water splash behind her and turned to see Loki stepping into the bath. It was her first full view of him naked and she couldn't help but stare. He didn't have the heavy muscle mass of Thor, but his strength was well defined in his arms and abs. There was a lithe sort of power about him that made Darcy realize just how deserving he was of his Godly title.

Her eyes unconsciously drifted lower, finding that he was half-hard already and Darcy suppressed a shiver of anticipation. This dangerous, powerful being wanted _her_. There was a nagging little voice in her head telling her that she really shouldn't do this again, but Darcy blatantly ignored it.

Sex with Loki once in a dark hall could be excused as a lapse of judgement. She could blame it on her emotionally vulnerable state after learning how sick Jane was. But this was no rushed, lusty romp; it was slow and calculated.

Loki approached her slowly as if he were giving Darcy plenty of time to change her mind and run away. Maybe he hoped that she would.

"You look as if you were rolling in a pile of rocks." There was a soft hint of fondness in Loki's voice as he reached out, picking a few small stones from Darcy's wet, tangled hair. "Always making a mess wherever you go, hmm?"

"What can I say, I guess I like it dirty." She hadn't meant for her comment to sound so sexual, it just kind of happened. He was _so_ naked and _so_ close to her, she was having a hard time thinking straight.

Loki made a low hum of amusement as he stepped closer, his hands finding her wrists and slowly sliding upwards to her shoulders.

In reply, Darcy reached out and let her fingers roam along the muscles of his back. When Loki made no complaint, her actions grew bolder and she dipped her hands under the water to trail along his hipbones before she brought them to his front, letting her nails drag lightly up his stomach.

Loki shuddered against her. A low moan slipped from his lips and his eyes slid shut. When they popped open a moment later, his gaze was dark and hungry.

"Turn around," he instructed, his voice hoarse.

A shot of pure lust ran through her as Darcy turned to face to edge of the tub.

Loki`s hand trailed down her spine, making her shiver. He stepped closer until his body was flush against her back as his arms wrapped around her, his hands palming her breasts and making her whimper.

Darcy could feel the hard length of him pressing against her. It was making the ache between her legs unbearable. She needed friction. She tried to move against him but Loki wouldn't allow it.

"Not yet." He spoke lowly, his mouth working its way down the side of her throat.

He continued to taste her skin, his tongue sweeping across her collarbone and the top of her shoulder while his hands massaged her breasts until Darcy was reduced to a panting, quivering mess. His thumbs rolled over her nipples and Darcy cried out loudly, arching her back and trying vainly to press herself against him.

"Please," she moaned, "Need you." God, she couldn't even put together a complete sentence. He was driving her crazy.

"Spread your legs for me, Darcy." Loki's voice was hot in her ear.

Darcy could have cried with relief. She widened her stance and bit her lip when she felt the length of him slide against her.

Loki's hands slid over her thighs before he firmly grabbed her hips and sunk into her core.

Their moans were simultaneous.

Loki moved slowly, nearly drawing out of her completely before slowly sliding all the way back in. It was the best kind of torture, Darcy thought. Pleasure (she never wanted him to stop) and pain (if he didn't pick up the pace soon, she might actually die of sexual frustration).

"Fuck, Loki." She gasped when he changed angles, hitting some new and wonderful spot inside her. "Don't you dare stop."

"I have no intentions of that." He panted, lowering his head to drag his teeth against the juncture of her neck and shoulder.

Loki's hands left her hips and moved up her ribcage, seeking out her breasts. He timed the work of his hands and hips, creating waves of unbelievable pleasure for Darcy.

She rocked against him, tightening her inner muscles and trying to drive him just as crazy as he had done to her.

Loki choked out a moan, burying his face in her wet hair as he spoke in some odd, foreign language. Asgardian swear words, Darcy assumed. He had to teach her some of those.

"You are..." his voice was rough and breathless as he struggled to find the words to describe her.

"Darcy?" She offered with a smile as she turned to look at him over her shoulder.

"Darcy." Loki repeated, grabbing a handful of her hair and pulling until she tilted her head back enough for him to find her lips, catching them in a demanding kiss.

His hips suddenly picked up speed, causing Darcy to moan into his mouth. She pulled her lips away, focusing all her energy on meeting Loki's hard thrusts with her own. Her thighs were trembling and she could feel her pleasure swell like a tidal wave moments away from crashing down.

She came hard, crying out Loki's name and letting her head drop onto her forearms where they rested on the tub's edge. Everything seemed to fade away for a moment as she literally saw stars.

When her focus returned, Loki was swearing again in that rambling, old language.

"Don't hold back." Darcy murmured in her post-orgasmic haze, "I wanna feel you." She moved her hips lazily against him, making Loki groan.

"Darcy..." He choked out her name as he came apart, emptying himself inside her with a deep moan of pleasure.

Darcy shivered, loving the way her name sounded when he uttered it mid-climax.

Afterwards, they dried off and slipped under the sheets of Darcy's bed, lying on their sides to face each other. They didn't touch, but to Darcy it felt just as intimate as if their bodies had been fully entangled.

"You know, you never actually told me what you did to make Murin angry enough to want to murder you." She said, propping herself up on her elbow to better look at him.

"Ah, well...I may have killed his father." Loki grimaced.

"Of course you did." Darcy flopped back onto her pillow with an exasperated sigh. He would never learn.


	5. Chapter 5

I'm back! Sorry for the delay, real life has been kicking me in the butt lately and I've been too tired to do any writing. I really appreciate all the lovely comments you guys have left :)

* * *

When Darcy woke the next morning, she was shocked to discover that she wasn't alone.

In her semi-asleep state, she had blindly rolled over onto her side and bumped into a warm body. Wiping her fuzzy eyes with the back of her hand, she looked down, surprised to see Loki's dark head resting next to her. He was lying on his stomach with his face smooshed into the pillow as he slept like the dead.

A grin tugged at the corner of Darcy's lips. They'd had sex two more times last night and apparently she had worn him out.

Settling back against her pillow, Darcy reached out and threaded her fingers through Loki's hair, idly playing with it while she made a mental list of what needed to be done today.

First, there was that charmed bowl that Loki had committed a double murder for. It was probably still tucked away in the folds of his clothes on the bathroom floor. She should really put that somewhere safe.

Next, she'd ask Thor if the trolls on Noon-ham had access to come and go from Asgard whenever they pleased (she wasn't going to ask Loki. He'd just scoff and repeat his 'I can take care of myself' line). If they did, she wouldn't be surprised if some form of retaliation would be coming. They would have to prepare for that on top of getting Jane's spell ready.

Never a dull moment in space-kingdom life, that was for sure.

Loki shifted beside her, muttering into his pillow. His arm reached out, finding her stomach and draping across it in a loose half-hug. Who knew sleepy Loki was so cuddly?

She moved her hand from his hair down his bare back, gently poking him in the ribs to wake him up. Loki made a soft humming noise, tightening his arm around her.

"Hey," Darcy nudged him with her shoulder, "Rise and shine, princess."

"S'too early." Came his muffled reply into the pillow.

"Nope," Darcy replied, "It's just the right amount of early for you to get out of here before someone sees you."

"Kicking me out of my own bed, are you?" Loki rolled over onto his side, cracking open one bleary eye to look at Darcy.

"Sure am. Not put some clothes on." She tugged the blankets away from him, exposing his bare skin to the cool air.

Loki grumbled and sat up slowly. He frowned when he saw that Darcy was fully covered up with the blankets firmly wrapped around her otherwise naked body.

"No funny business." She warned when she noticed him eyeing her chest. "There's too much to do today."

They would be healing Jane soon and the anticipation was killing Darcy. It was worse than when she used to count down the days until Christmas as a kid.

She reached towards the bedside table and grabbed her glasses, slipping them on. Big mistake. Now she could very clearly see every detail of Loki's naked body beside her. Her skin heated and she unconsciously rubbed her thighs together, wanting him all over again even though she was still a bit achy from last night's activities.

"For God's sake, put some clothes on." Darcy complained, reluctantly dragging her eyes away from him before she ended up pouncing on him. She was both relieved and disappointed when Loki magically dressed himself without complaint.

"Hey, can you use your magic to clean my jeans?" Darcy asked, suddenly remembering her pile of filthy clothing in the bathroom.

"I could, yes." Loki confirmed, continuing to sit on the bed and look at her.

Darcy rolled her eyes, "Well, _will_ you?"

"If you ask nicely." Loki said with a far too charming grin.

"Okay, _pleeeease_?" Darcy asked sweetly, letting her blanket drop just a little to reveal some cleavage. She bit her lip and looked up at him through her lashes. Score one point for feminine wiles.

Loki caught her off guard, surging forward with a growl as he covered Darcy's body with his own. He kissed her hard and Darcy dropped her blanket, automatically raising her arms to wrap them around his neck.

She was breathless and incredibly turned on by the time they pulled apart.

"Oh alright," she relented, "but we've gotta be quick. You really need to go soon."

In an instant, Loki had magicked his clothing away and was pushing Darcy's knees apart as he settled between her thighs.

Breakfast could wait, Darcy supposed. This was far more yummy.

* * *

Darcy and Thor were finishing off the last of their meal when Darcy finally decided to bring up the rock trolls. There was no easy way to segue into the topic, so in typical Darcy fashion, she jumped in bluntly.

"Those trolls on Noon-ham. What do you know about them?" She asked Thor, popping her last forkful of egg into her mouth.

Thor looked at her like she had just grown a second head. "Noon-ham? Perhaps you are referring to Nornheim?"

"Yep, that's the one." Darcy confirmed. "Do they ever come visit?"

"Not often," Thor admitted, "They must be granted passage by Heimdall and he will not allow them to enter Asgard without a proper escort."

"Ah," Darcy nodded, sinking down into her chair with relief, "Good to know."

"Where has this sudden interest in Nornheim come from?" Thor asked.

"Uh, nowhere." Darcy lied, "I've just been reading up on some history stuff in the library. Political science student, you know? I was curious about inter-realm relations." She'd been spending way too much time with Loki, that lie had come out far too smoothly.

Thor was still looking at her funny. He opened his mouth to say something but was distracted by the entrance of one of the most badass chicks Darcy had ever seen.

"Sif!" Thor greeted, motioning for her to join himself and Darcy at their table.

"Darcy, you remember my friend Lady Sif?" Thor asked as Sif approached them.

"I sure do. How's it goin'?" She asked the warrior.

Sif's forehead wrinkled in confusion, "Going where?"

"Uhh...nevermind. Nice to see you." Darcy settled on a little more of a traditional greeting.

Sif nodded to her before addressing Thor, "A fresh group of marauders has been brought into the dungeons. Fandral is certain he can handle their admittance on his own but you know what became of his last attempt."

She made a face and Thor laughed, standing and pushing his chair in. "Yes, I will go assist him. Perhaps you could keep Darcy company while I am gone?"

Sif gave him a look that said 'Really? Babysitting duty?' but she agreed.

After Thor left, an awkward silence settled over Darcy and Sif.

"You can sit." Darcy offered, noticing that the warrior was still standing a bit stiffly beside the table.

"No thank you." Sif replied politely.

More silence.

Darcy struggled to think of something to say to fill the time until Thor came back. "Oh!" She exclaimed, remembering an article she'd briefly seen online before S.H.I.E.L.D. had wiped out all evidence of it. "I heard you were back on Earth, er, Midgard for a while. Something about defeating some psycho chick named Lorelai?"

Sif nodded, raising her chin and looking a bit proud, "I did. It was rather satisfying to finally best her. We have had many skirmishes in the past."

"That is _awesome,_" Darcy said, her eyes going round with excitement.

A small smile broke through Sif's normally sober expression. "Do you wish to hear about it?"

Darcy settled back in her chair and crossed her legs, "Damn right I do. Tell me everything."

When Thor found them an hour later, Darcy was cracking up as Sif entertained her with embarrassing stories from Thor's childhood.

"He escaped unscathed, though the demon wolf had shredded his trousers with a final swipe of his claws. When Thor returned to the palace, he had to stand before Odin in his undergarments and explain what had become of the new trousers Frigga had only just sewn for him." Sif finished her tale with a grin.

"Oh my god, Thor! You had to stand in that giant throne room in your tighty whities? Ha!" Darcy dissolved into a fit of laughter.

Thor rubbed the back of his neck, a small blush spreading across his cheeks, "What nonsense have you been telling Darcy, Sif?"

"Nothing she did not wish to hear." Sif countered good-naturedly.

"Well, you are relieved of your story telling duties now." Thor responded with a slight smile.

Sif nodded, standing from the seat she had taken, "Good day, Darcy. Perhaps I will see you again at this evening's celebration for Volstagg."

"See ya." Darcy waved at the warrior as she left. "Damn, I wanna be her when I grow up." She said to Thor.

Thor chuckled, "I am sure Sif would be flattered to hear that."

"What celebration was she talking about? Can I go?" Darcy had been in Asgard for almost a full week and had yet to experience any of the rowdy parties Thor had told her stories of. A night of wine and music and laughter sounded pretty damn good right now.

"You are welcome to attend. In fact, I must to speak with _'_Odin' about tonight's festivities." Thor replied, "Have you seen him?"

"Nope." Not since he screwed her senseless in bed that morning, but she thought it might be wise to leave that part out.

"I'm sure he has not gone far. We should discuss Jane's condition as well. Will you meet us in the Allfather's room shortly? Try not to let anyone see you, we do not want to rouse any suspicion."

"Secret rendezvous? I can handle that." Darcy grinned. "I just wish I had a trench coat and fake mustache."

* * *

"The day after tomorrow." Loki announced as he, Thor and Darcy sat around the roaring fireplace in Odin's chambers.

"Thank God," Darcy leaned back in her chair, relief evident on her face. They finally had a solid date for healing Jane.

"No need to be so formal, you can thank me by name." Loki commented with a sly grin.

In response, Darcy stuck her tongue out at him, making Thor laugh while Loki tried to hide his own amusement.

"That is very good news indeed." Thor smiled at his brother, "You have my gratitude, Loki."

Loki shifted in his seat, looking uncomfortable at Thor's praise. "It's nothing." He muttered, staring fixedly at the fireplace. It could have been the heat of the flames but Darcy thought she saw the tops of his cheeks colour.

"So, the party?" She broke the increasingly awkward silence between the brothers.

"Ah, yes." Thor nodded, "Volstagg's wife is with child. We are having a celebration in their honor tonight and the Allfather is expected to make an appearance." He glanced at Loki as he spoke.

Loki grumbled and slouched down in his chair, "Gudrun is with child _again_? How many will that be now, a dozen? Perhaps if they ceased fornicating like animals..."

Darcy interrupted with a loud laugh which she quickly tampered down, trying to hide it as a cough. Fornicating like animals? He was one to talk, and she had the lingering soreness between her legs as proof.

Thor looked at Loki pointedly, "Father would go."

"Well I'm not father." Loki snapped.

"No," Thor agreed with a slow shake of his head, "You are not."

Loki exhaled loudly, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Fine." He ground out through gritted teeth, "I will make an appearance as Odin for one hour."

"Three hours."

"Ten minutes."

"I don't think you understand the concept of compromise, Loki."

"Okay!" Darcy interrupted, "I'm taking control of this meeting right now. You," she pointed a finger at Loki, "will show up for two hours and look damn happy doing it. And you," she pointed to Thor, "will handle all of the toasts and speeches and whatever so Loki doesn't unleash his snark on everyone. Deal?"

She crossed her arms over her chest, fixing the two Gods with a stern look that said _go ahead_, _I dare you to say no_.

"That sounds fair." Thor looked to Loki.

"Oh alright." There was a pained expression on Loki's face. "I'm going to regret this, aren't I?"

* * *

Darcy was standing in front of the mirror in her bedroom, pondering whether her jeans were acceptable party wear, when there was a knock at her door.

"C'mon in." She called, looking across the room to see a young woman poke her head through the doorway. It was the same servant who usually fetched Darcy at meal times.

She stepped into the room timidly and cleared her throat, "The Allfather has brought a gift. He wishes for you to wear this to tonight's celebration."

The girl held up a dress, showing it to Darcy. It was a dark, shimmery forest green colour, strapless with a corset-like top. It was pretty, but right away Darcy could tell that her boobs would practically be spilling out of it.

Damn Loki, that pervert.

"Yeeeeah... there's no fucking way I'm wearing that." Darcy shook her head forcefully, causing her hair to nearly whip her in the face.

The servant's eyes went round with shock, "You choose to disobey a direct request from the Allfather?" Her voice had gone high with fear.

Darcy's scowl faded as she turned to the girl, "What's your name?" She asked kindly. The servant looked to be only about 15 but in Asgardian years she could have been 850 for all Darcy knew.

"Vinna." The girl replied hesitantly.

"Ok, Vinna. Listen up: your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to find me another dress. _Any_ other dress, even if you have to cut arm holes through an empty potato sack, I would rather wear that than this thing." Darcy said, motioning towards to the dress.

Vinna still looked uncomfortable with the thought of disobeying the Allfather as she nibbled on her bottom lip.

"Don't worry about Odin." Darcy assured her, "I'll deal with him and I'll make sure he knows that you did your job perfectly. I promise I won't get you in trouble."

The young girl's posture relaxed. "Thank you Lady Darcy," her voice was full of relief, "I accept my mission. I will bring you the most beautiful gown I can find!" Her face took on a look of determination.

"Awesome. I'm sure whatever you pick out will be perfect." Darcy smiled at the girl's eagerness.

After Vinna left, Darcy used her alone time to take a nice long bath before fiddling with her hair, trying to decide how to wear it. Apparently there were no straighteners or curling irons on Asgard, so she settled for a loose side braid. Classy but not trying too hard.

When Vinna returned a few hours later, her thin arms were filled with a rich, wine coloured fabric. "I have found the most lovely dress." She declared proudly, laying it on Darcy's bed and carefully smoothing out the fabric.

"Ooh, nice choice." Darcy grinned, giving Vinna a thumbs up.

The dress was floor length and fancy like the green one Loki had picked, but this gown had a much more tasteful neckline and off-the-shoulder sleeves. It was sexy while still leaving some things to the imagination. She'd be making Loki work for a glimpse of what was under this dress.

Vinna was positively beaming at Darcy's praise. "You will be the prettiest lady in attendance."

"Damn right," Darcy picked up the dress, holding it against her and checking herself out in the mirror, "This is totally my Cinderella moment."

Though she suspected that Cinderella didn't have a mouth like a trucker and Prince Charming wasn't a murderous nutcase.

Oh well, to hell with fairytales. If she wanted to be motherfucking Cinderella, she would be motherfucking Cinderella. Bad language and all.

* * *

The party was in full swing when Darcy and Thor stepped into the ballroom. Darcy scanned the room and was relieved to see that Loki had actually shown up. 'Odin' was currently being cornered by a tall, thin couple with golden skin and hair, and although he looked utterly bored, he at least seemed to be polite to them.

"Wine, Darcy?" Thor picked up two silver goblets from the tray of a passing server.

"Don't mind if I do." Darcy took the offered drink, clinking glasses with Thor before she took a sip. It was a fruity and a bit tart, but she liked it.

"I would go easy on that," Thor nodded toward her cup, "It is far more potent than any of the ale I have encountered on Midgard."

"Thanks for the warning." Darcy looked down at her drink and frowned. The last thing she needed was to start drunkenly babbling to people about Loki still being alive. Or, even worse, how good their sex was. She was capping herself at two drinks, max.

When she looked back across the room, Darcy saw that the golden couple were finally moving away from Loki. The Allfather took a long swig of his drink before making his way over to where Darcy and Thor stood at the outskirts of the large crowd.

"One hour and thirty-eight minutes to go." He said without preamble, "Believe me, I am counting the seconds."

"Surely it can't be that bad." Thor reasoned.

"It is." Loki shot him a deadly look that instantly quieted Thor.

"You should go say hi to the happy couple. I'll keep an eye on Odin here." Darcy nudged Thor, pointing towards Volstagg and his wife who were a few feet away, chatting with a group of people. Darcy recognized Sif as one of them, and she raised her glass to the woman in greeting.

Sif smiled, lifting her own drink in return.

"You've been making friends." Loki had seen the exchange between Darcy and Sif, and if Darcy didn't know any better, she'd say that he sounded jealous.

"Who wouldn't want to be friends with Sif? She could probably kill me with her bare hands and she's a hardcore babe." Darcy took a sip of her drink, considering the female warrior, "Yep, I think I have a crush."

'Odin' shook his head, at a loss for words.

"Well...I believe I will go say hello." Thor nodded goodbye to Darcy before heading off into the throng of people in the centre of the room. She had probably weirded him out with that crush comment.

'Odin' took a moment to study Darcy's gown, his mouth pulling down into a stern frown. "Where is the dress I sent you?"

"Oh, that thing? It was nice and all but I dress for myself," Darcy commented lightly, "not for dudes who think it's ok to buy sexy clothing for pretty girls a fraction of their age."

"It was a gift." 'Odin' grumbled, his good eye flashing with annoyance.

"And I appreciate it but _hello_, have you seen my rack?" She gestured to her boobs, "It would have looked obscene in that dress."

"I am well aware of your..._rack_ as you so eloquently put it. In fact, I have grown quite fond of it." 'Odin' leered at her.

Thoroughly creeped out, Darcy crinkled her nose in disgust. "Okay, you are not allowed to stay stuff like that while you look like _that_."

"Come with me for a moment." 'Odin' took the half-empty cup from her hand, depositing it on a nearby table along with his own drink before he took her wrist and pulled her away from the crowd of party-goers. At the edge of the room, he pushed her behind a large stone pillar.

Darcy let out a muffled, 'oof' as her back hit the stone, "Hey, what-"

She was cut off when she felt the familiar shape of Loki's body pressing against hers, his lips attacking hers desperately. She moaned into his mouth, raising her hands and plunging them into his dark hair as she pulled him closer.

When they parted for air, Darcy's eyes roved over his face. His eyes were bright and his lips were tinged a rosy colour from her lipstick. He looked utterly irresistible.

"Are you stupid?" She hissed, swatting him in the arm, "What if someone sees you?"

"Well I certainly wasn't going to kiss you as Odin." Loki replied, letting his hands slide over the swell of her hips. His thumbs rubbed slow circles against her hipbones in a way that left her dizzy.

"You couldn't have waited?" Darcy asked, panting a bit as Loki lowered his head to suck at the skin of her neck.

"I could not." He pressed his hips against hers, letting Darcy feel the firm length of his arousal.

She whimpered – yep, she fucking _whimpered_ like some virgin maiden in a trashy paperback novel – before arching against him.

"Fuck, I want you," she murmured hotly into his ear, "Get out of here as soon as you can and meet me in my room."

"With pleasure." Loki breathed against her skin, his fingers squeezing her hips once more before he reluctantly let go. His Odin disguise shimmered back into place and he slipped away from her, quickly getting lost in the middle of the party.

* * *

It was the middle of the night when Loki finally slid into Darcy's bed. She had been fast asleep but the feeling of hot, open-mouthed kisses on her bare shoulder slowly woke her up.

"You're ridiculously late," she mumbled sleepily, rolling over to face Loki, "I spent three hours waiting before I gave up and went to sleep, horny and alone."

"My apologies, I was called away on official business as the Allfather." Loki leaned over her, his lips ghosting over the shell of her ear, "Let me make it up to you." He nipped at her ear and Darcy shivered.

"You can try." Despite her annoyance at him, her body seemed to respond to his touch automatically, drawing closer to the heat of him as her hands sought out his skin.

He was bare-chested, looking pale and angular in the dim room. A sliver of moonlight filtered through the window, casting a silvery glow over his skin. He looked like he had been carved out of marble.

Darcy's hands ran over the curve of his shoulders and the lean muscles of his biceps. When she looked up to meet his eyes, she saw that Loki was staring down at her with a soft, unreadable expression on his face.

He stayed still, allowing her to explore his body as she liked. Darcy pressed both her palms against his chest, feeling the steady thumping of his heart beneath her fingertips.

All at once, she was hit by the heaviness of the moment, the amount of trust he was putting in her hands as he bared himself to her. She had a feeling that he didn't dole out trust very easily, yet for some reason he trusted her, a mouthy mortal girl who had only stumbled across him by accident. That thought made her kind of want to cry.

Darcy reached up and looped her arms around Loki's neck, pulling him down into a kiss. It was softer than any of their previous kisses and the unexpected sweetness of it made her chest ache.

When Darcy pulled back, she noticed that there were still dark smudges under his eyes, giving away his exhaustion. She brushed the pad of her thumb along one of the marks. Loki tilted his head, turning towards Darcy's hand until her palm was cradling his cheek. He made a small noise of contentment in his throat as his eyes fluttered closed. Darcy felt her breath catch; he looked so vulnerable and unguarded.

They stayed like that for a while until Darcy's attention was caught by a large, circular scar just beneath his ribcage. She traced a finger over it lightly. "Hey, where did you get this?"

"Svartalfheim," Loki looked down at the old wound, "When Thor and I fought Malekith and saved your friend Jane...the first time." He added with a small, half-smile. "We shall save her again."

Was he...comforting her? Darcy had never heard Loki say anything remotely nice about Jane, aside from begrudgingly admitting that all her research was accurate. Now he was actually calling Jane by her name and assuring Darcy that she would be okay.

Fuck, she really did like Loki.

"Kiss me." She demanded, winding her arms around him.

Their lips met forcefully, teeth clacking together out of pure eagerness. Loki's tongue slid across her bottom lip before plunging into her mouth, stealing her breath away.

He moved over her, covering her body with his own and nudging her knees open. Darcy pushed at him, making him stop and pull back.

"What's wrong?" He asked, sounding slightly out of breath.

Darcy wiggled out from under him before pushing him back onto the bed and throwing her leg over his hips as she straddled him.

"Nothing at all." She replied with a wicked grin, rolling her hips to grind against him.

Loki's head fell back onto the mattress as he groaned. "I thought I was supposed to be making up for my absence."

"Oh, you will." Darcy confirmed, fumbling with the closure on his pants, "But first I wanna do this."

She stripped off his pants before settling back over him, taking his length in her hand and slowly sinking down onto him.

"_F__æ__n_ _Darcy_." Loki's eyes slammed shut as she took him fully inside her. His lips were parted and his breath came out in short, rapid gasps. It was a sight that almost made her come on the spot.

She moved slowly, taking time to drink in every detail of the way he looked underneath her. Loki's hands slid up her thighs, resting there as she leaned forward, bending her body over him. Her hair fell forward over her shoulder, creating a curtain around their faces.

"Look at me." Darcy demanded, continuing her slow and torturous pace as she slid her body along his.

Loki's eyes reopened, hazy and glazed over with lust.

"Darcy," his voice was raw, her name coming out like a plea.

The heat of his gaze brought goosebumps to Darcy's skin. He looked at her with awe, like she was a Goddess.

She kissed him hard, mainly to keep herself from saying something stupid at that moment, like _I think I_ _love you_. Because she totally didn't. It was all the heat of the moment. Sexual chemistry and nothing else...right?

She ignored the conflicting thoughts in her head, instead speeding up her pace and getting lost in the feeling of Loki's body moving with hers.

When their lips finally parted for air, Loki gripped her waist and fluidly flipped them over so Darcy's back was now against the mattress.

She let out a small noise of surprise that quickly turned into a moan as Loki immediately began moving at a steady, sensual pace.

When Darcy looked into his eyes, she was surprised by the amount of open emotion on his face.

"What are you thinking about?" She whispered, her voice hitching on the last word as a particularly deep thrust made her whole body tingle with pleasure. He was being far more tender than he had ever been before, and while Darcy was thoroughly enjoying it, she couldn't help but feel like Loki was up to something. This was feeling way too sentimental; too much like a good bye.

"You will find out soon enough." Loki murmured, lowering his head to bring his lips to her breasts.

Darcy wanted to question him further, but all coherent thoughts flew out of her head when Loki's mouth found her chest.

She threaded her fingers through his hair and groaned when he took her nipple into his mouth.

"Faster," she panted, tugging at his hair to bring his face back up to hers.

Loki dropped a swift kiss onto her lips before he complied, moving his hips at a quick, almost brutal pace.

"Oh, God." Darcy tightened her legs around him, feeling her orgasm simmering just beneath the surface of her skin. She raked her nails down his back and in response Loki made a low noise deep in his throat.

"What you do to me, Darcy..." He dropped his head to her neck, sucking and biting at her skin.

It was rare for Loki to call her by her first name, but Darcy barely even noticed as his hand slid between their bodies and he pressed his thumb against her clit, delivering just the right amount of pressure to make her shatter. She let out a loud cry as her orgasm washed over her, intense and euphoric.

When she regained her breath, she brought her lips to Loki's ear, whispering seductively, "Fuck, Loki. God of Mischief and Lies and Bone-Melting Orgasms." She wrapped her arms around his lower waist, pulling him firmly and completely inside of her.

Loki choked out a groan as he buried his face against her neck. His body shuddered against hers as he came. His arms were wrapping Darcy in a nearly bone-crushing hold but she didn't mind. It was worth it to see him so utterly undone.

They were a pile of sweaty, tangled limbs afterwards, too tired to move.

With a great deal of effort, Loki rolled onto his back so he would not crush Darcy under his weight. He grasped Darcy's waist, moving her with him so that she rested mostly on top of his body.

"Wake me up in an hour," Darcy murmured sleepily as she relaxed against him.

"Hmm? Why is that?" Loki asked as his hands traveled over her naked skin, stopping to pay particular attention to her backside.

"Because, in case you've forgotten, you still owe me some epic 'sorry-I'm-late' apology sex." Darcy stretched her neck to place a kiss on the side of his throat.

Loki chuckled softly, "And what would you call the sex we just had?"

"Oh, that was just a warm-up." Darcy's eyes fluttered shut as she rested her cheek on his chest, "You'd better really dazzle me with round two."

"Quite demanding, aren't you?" Loki commented with a slight smile.

"You know you love it." Darcy mumbled, drifting into sleep.

Loki didn't respond until he heard Darcy's breathing even out in a sure sign that she was fast asleep. Only then did he make his quiet admission to the dark room, "Yes, that is what I fear."


	6. Chapter 6

I'm so glad you guys are enjoying this! I hope this chapter doesn't disappoint.

* * *

The next day passed in a blur of final preparations and before Darcy knew it, it was healing day.

She hadn't seen Loki at all yesterday. In fact, he hadn't even joined her in bed last night, and sharing a bed was quickly becoming routine for them.

According to Thor, Loki had secluded himself in Odin's chambers, reserving his energy and magic. Darcy was disappointed by his absence but glad to see that he was taking Jane's healing spell so seriously.

Now that they were just hours away from the big moment, she couldn't help but think of her contract with Loki. As soon as Jane woke up, Darcy would be bound to Asgard for good. The thought made her stomach churn with anticipation. What would Thor and Jane say when they found out? Darcy winced to herself, not looking forward to that conversation.

Over breakfast that morning, Darcy finally worked up the nerve to ask Thor a question that had been weighing heavily on her mind, "So after we heal Jane, what will happen to you-know-who?" She asked, subtly referring to Loki.

Thor leaned back in his chair as he contemplated his answer, "I expect that he will face a tribunal to decide his fate. I will speak on his behalf and perhaps if I explain that he aided Jane, his sentence will be fair."

"Can't you just...keep it a secret?" Darcy asked a bit desperately, "Once the real Odin wakes up from his sleep coma thing, everything can go back to normal. No one has to know there was ever a difference."

Thor sighed, rubbing a hand over his face, "I wish I could do that. He is my brother, I do not wish to see him imprisoned, but this is not a matter of what I want. It is a matter of what is _right_."

Darcy frowned down at her half-eaten plate of fruit, "Yeah, I had a feeling you'd say that."

Damn. If Loki was imprisoned, what would happen to her? She would be stuck alone on Asgard for however long his sentence was, which, for a nearly immortal God, could be a long-ass time. 100 years? 400 years? Longer? She'd be nothing but a pile of dust before he was ever released.

Thor was silent for a moment, "You have come to care for him."

"I have," Darcy admitted, "Don't know how in the hell _that_ happened."

Thor chuckled, shaking his head ruefully, "That is often the case when it comes to Loki."

* * *

The reality of her situation didn't really hit Darcy until she was standing outside of the infirmary, staring blankly at the closed door.

This was it. She would enter that room and when she emerged, her life would never be the same. Maybe that was a bit melodramatic, but Darcy figured she was entitled to some exaggeration after all that she had been through. The fact that she was still functioning and (mostly) sane was a miracle in and of itself.

For a fleeting moment, she wondered what her life would be like if they had never hit Thor with the van that fateful night in the desert. Would she be bickering with Jane in their old New Mexico lab right now, drinking too-strong coffee and checking equipment readings? The two of them would have just kept on living oblivious to the existence of Norse gods and deadly assassins and genetically-engineered super soldiers. Did she really want that?

Darcy sighed, placing her palm on the thick wooden door. She had too many questions and not a single answer to any of them. Her chest ached and she desperately wished she could talk to Jane. Logical, sensible Jane. She would have a plan.

But Jane couldn't help her. Right now, Jane was the one who needed _her_.

Steeling herself, Darcy pushed the door open, stepping into the infirmary.

Inside the room, Thor was already at Jane's bedside. When he turned to Darcy, his eyes were bright with hope.

"It is time." He said, unable to contain his wide grin.

Darcy smiled back at him, hoping it didn't look like a grimace because it sure as hell felt like one.

The door behind her pushed open and Darcy turned to see Odin stride into the room. His eye swept over Darcy, Thor and Jane before settling on the small group of healers who monitored Jane's condition.

"Leave us." He commanded, "I wish for a moment alone with my son."

The healers obediently bowed their heads, exiting the room. The heavy door shut loudly behind them, echoing ominously.

'Odin' waited a moment, his head cocked to the side as if he were listening to something, before he dropped his illusion and became Loki.

"They are gone." He announced, "Shall we begin?"

"Aye." Thor confirmed. He was pacing at the foot of Jane's bed, full of eager energy.

Loki's eyes slid to Darcy, "Are you ready?" He asked, his words weighted with a hidden meaning and Darcy knew he was talking about their contract, not Jane.

Darcy wet her lips before answering decisively, "Yes."

The corner of Loki's mouth pulled up into a smile, "Very well, let's get started."

* * *

The final preparations were quick. Loki issued instructions to Thor and Darcy while he mixed Jane's healing elixir in the charmed dish.

Darcy tried not to stare at that damned stone bowl as Loki poured ingredients into it. It only reminded her of what they had done to get their hands on it. The blood-coated floor of Murin's hut, the look on Loki's face as he ruthlessly slit the throat of the attacking troll...Darcy really didn't need those reminders right now.

"Prop her up so she can drink this." Loki said, making his way to Jane's side with the stone dish held in his palm.

Thor gently lifted Jane by the shoulders while Darcy shoved a few extra pillows behind her back until Jane rested in a sitting position.

"Ready." Darcy announced, chewing her lip nervously as she smoothed some of Jane's stray hair away from her face.

Loki handed the elixir to Thor, "You give her this while I perform the magic."

Thor nodded, gently cradling the bowl between his large hands as if it was a baby bird and he was afraid of crushing it.

Loki took both of Jane's hands in his before he exhaled deeply and closed his eyes. "Now, Thor."

Thor tipped the bowl up to Jane's lips, pouring the liquid down her throat. When the bowl was empty, he stepped back next to Darcy.

"Is it working?" Darcy whispered to him.

Before Thor could reply, bright golden light spilled from Loki's hands. It ran along Jane's arms in small, spider web patterns before sinking into her skin and disappearing. In contrast, a dark substance that looked like molasses ran up Loki's arms in the same intricate spider web pattern.

"They are exchanging energy." Thor murmured to Darcy, "Loki is sending his healthy energy into Jane and accepting her tainted energy in return."

Darcy watched with disgust as more waves of the nasty black substance were pulled from Jane's skin and slowly soaked into Loki, "All that was inside Jane? Oh my God."

The exchange continued and Darcy couldn't tell how much time had passed. One or two hours, at least.

Beads of sweat were gathering on Loki's forehead. He ignored it, gritting his teeth but showing no other signs of discomfort as his eyes remained closed.

After another half hour, he had grown considerably paler and Darcy started to worry.

"How much longer?" She asked Thor, her eyes still focused on Loki.

"The process should nearly be complete." Thor replied.

He took a step towards Loki but before he could do anything further, a number of things happened all at once.

Loki's eyes flew open, rolling back into his head as his body went limp.

Darcy felt a tight _snap_ in her chest, like an elastic band being severed.

And finally, Jane gasped a giant, heaving breath.

For an instant Darcy and Thor stood there in shock, unmoving as if their brains couldn't comprehend what has just happened. When the stunned surprise wore off a moment later, they moved in a frantic flurry of action.

Thor rushed to his brother, managing to hook his arms under Loki's armpits before his body could hit the ground. He gently lowered Loki down onto the floor while Darcy sprinted across the room to Jane's bedside.

Though Jane still seemed to be sleeping, some colour had finally returned to her cheeks. Darcy pressed two fingers to her friend's neck, finding a solid, steady pulse. Satisfied that Jane was okay for the moment, Darcy turned her attention to Loki.

She dropped down onto her knees next to Loki's body. On his other side, Thor knelt in a similar position.

"What the hell is happening?" Darcy shrieked, watching with shock as Loki's skin shimmered and shifted, his regular pale tone being replaced with a deep, cerulean blue.

"Thor?" She looked over at him, her stomach flipping when she saw fear etched into the Asgardian's face.

"I...I do not know. He must have completely exhausted his magic." Thor's voice was thick with worry, "He cannot even hold his Aesir form, he has reverted to his Jotunn state."

"What do we do?" Darcy cried, her hands hovering over Loki's body unsurely.

"We must call for Fayne." Thor said grimly.

"We can't!" Darcy argued, "We can't let anyone see him. They'll lock him up!"

"We have no choice, Darcy!" Thor's response was loud and heated, the closest he had ever come to yelling at his young friend.

When he saw the shocked, hurt look on Darcy's face, he paused, lowered his voice, and then continued, "We need the help of the healers. There is no other choice."

Darcy stared down at Loki's still body, feeling a horrible sense of déjà vu as she remembered kneeling next to Jane in a similar fashion not all that long ago.

With a sigh, she sat back on her heels, defeated. "Okay. Go get them."

Thor was on his feet and out the door instantly, and when he returned with the healers, the group merely stared at Loki's body.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Thor barked at them, "He is my brother and a prince of Asgard. Heal him!"

At his words, the healers began scrambling around like a flock of frightened chickens. It would have been funny if Darcy wasn't feeling so sick and terrified right now.

The healers moved Loki's body into a separate, smaller annex of the infirmary where they laid him down onto a long table, identical to the one Jane had been examined on when she was first brought to Asgard. They worked quickly and surely under Thor's watch, and Darcy felt a small twinge of relief knowing that Loki was in capable hands.

That didn't lessen much of her worry though, especially about the odd snapping sensation she'd felt in her chest when he collapsed. What had it been? Darcy knew that their contract bonded her to Loki with magic. If the bond had broken, did that mean that Loki was dead?

At that thought, her mouth went dry and she felt a deep fear settle in her bones.

On unsteady legs, Darcy made her way back to Jane's bed in the other room, perching on the edge of the mattress and bending over until her head almost rested on her knees. She tried to breathe deeply and evenly, fighting off the growing feeling of nausea that threatened to overwhelm her.

As she squeezed her eyes shut, she remembered the sweet, tender way Loki had looked at her the last time they had sex. Could she even call that sex? It was more like making love, and at the time, it had felt like a good bye to Darcy. Now she was beginning to think it was exactly that.

Her eyes burned with unshed tears and Darcy bit her lip hard, trying not to break down. Not here. Not now.

"Darce?"

Darcy's head shot up at the sound of the familiar voice. She blinked her blurry vision away and whipped her head to the right, "Jane? Oh my God, you're awake!"

The astrophysicist was smiling at her weakly. She still looked exhausted, but her cheeks were a healthy shade of pink and her eyes looked bright.

"What happened?" Jane asked, her voice slightly rough from disuse.

Darcy turned to sit sideways on the bed, resting her hand on Jane's leg as if to reassure herself that Jane really was alive and well. "You collapsed at the lab. Do you remember that?"

"I...I remember feeling sick, but that's all." Jane frowned, "Where are we?"

"Asgard." Darcy replied, "Thor brought you here. That creepy Aether stuff left you with a nasty parting gift, but Loki managed to get it out of you." She was so excited that Jane was awake, Darcy hadn't even realized she had let Loki's name slip so easily into the conversation.

Jane's eyes widened, "Loki? But that's impossible, I watched him die."

"Yeah, about that..." Darcy wet her lips, not sure of how to break the news, "Surprise!" She said in an awkward, fake enthusiastic voice, "He's still alive...or at least I hope he is." Her eyes unconsciously went to the doorway leading to Loki.

"Wait, so he wasn't dead but now he might be?" Jane's mouth pulled down into a confused frown, "What's going on, Darcy?"

Darcy sighed, pushing her glasses further up her nose, "It's a long story. An unbelievable and slightly ridiculous crazy-ass story."

"Do I look like I'm going anywhere?" Jane said, gesturing to her current bedridden condition, "Give me all the details."

"I suppose you want all the good sciency bits too, huh?" Darcy asked with a bit of a grin.

"You know it." Jane replied, looking alert and excited. Of course science talk would be the thing to shake her from her tired, post-comatose state. "You didn't happen to take down any notes after you traveled by Bifrost, did you?"

* * *

Darcy told Jane as much as she could before lingering exhaustion caused the astrophysicist to fall asleep in the middle of their conversation.

Darcy gently pushed herself off the edge of the bed, trying not to disturb Jane's nap.

She made her way into the annex where she found the room to be mostly empty, save for Thor and Fayne who stood over Loki where he laid on the examination table.

"I've got some good news: Jane woke up." Darcy announced, "She's resting now but she seems to be totally fine."

"She is well?" Thor's face lit up with happy relief. When he looked back at Loki's unconscious form, his smile drooped slightly, becoming bittersweet, "Thank you, brother." He spoke quietly, giving Loki's shoulder a gentle squeeze in appreciation of the sacrifice he had made.

"You sent the rest of the healers away. Is that a good thing or a bad thing?" Darcy asked Thor as she approached Loki's side. She leaned over the examination table, taking a good look at him.

He had not woken up in the time that she'd been gone and his skin was still blue. Darcy took the opportunity to study his face curiously. She wanted to reach out, touch the strange raised patterns that ran over his skin, but she forced the urge down when she saw Fayne looking at her with an odd expression.

Right. To most of the palace, Loki was a liar, a criminal and a traitor. She probably shouldn't act so at ease around him. Reluctantly, Darcy stepped away from his side and moved to stand next to Thor instead.

"I am not entirely sure of his condition." Thor admitted. He rubbed a hand over his face tiredly and Darcy felt a surge of sympathy for the big guy. In the last few days, he had almost lost the woman he loved, discovered that his dead brother was not so dead, and now said brother was possibly dying all over again. Talk about a rough week.

"Nothing can be done for him." Fayne elaborated on Thor's comment, glancing at Loki with a hint of mild distaste, "His body is too weak to respond to any of our healing magic. We must simply wait for him to recover at his own pace."

"But he will recover, right?" Darcy wrapped her arms around herself, afraid to hear the healer's response.

"His magic should gradually restore itself and when it does, he will wake. Of course, there is always a chance that he will not recover." Fayne gave a small, helpless shrug, "His physiology is different than ours. I do not know if his Jotunn blood will help him or harm him in this instance."

"Thank you, Fayne. Perhaps you could check on Jane?" Thor gave her a grateful nod and the healer left the room.

When they were alone, Darcy shook her head in angry disbelief, "He said he would be fine." She said to Thor, bitterness seeping into her voice. "He said he was strong enough to do the spell."

"I know." Thor replied softly, placing a comforting hand on Darcy's shoulder. "And by now you must know that nothing Loki says can be taken as the truth."

"Yeah, I know." Darcy let out a small laugh that was tinged with sadness. "You total and complete fucktard. Why did you lie to us?" She directed the insult to Loki's unconscious form, though her words lacked any real bite.

"I am sure that the healers have already begun to spread the news that Loki lives." Thor sighed, "I should make a formal announcement before chaos erupts."

"'Kay." Darcy couldn't draw her eyes away from Loki. "I'm just gonna stay here a little longer."

Thor smiled at her fondly, "Stay as long as you like. I am sure Loki would be pleased to know that you remain by his side during such a trying time."

Much to her embarrassment, Darcy felt her cheeks heat at Thor's comment, "I don't...we aren't..." she fumbled awkwardly. "Oh, just get out of here." She pushed on Thor's arm light-heartedly, shoving him towards the door.

* * *

Darcy wasn't sure how long she had been sitting with Loki when the door to the healing room opened behind her.

"Thor," she said without turning around, "I thought I told you...oh...you're not Thor." She said a bit stupidly, blinking with disbelief as Heimdall approached her.

He carried his large gold helmet under one arm but otherwise, he looked just the same as he had when Darcy first met him.

"Miss Lewis." Heimdall greeted in his deep, kind voice. "May I speak with you for a moment?"

"Um, yeah. Sure thing dude. What's up?" Darcy stood from her seat and smoothed down her slightly wrinkled shirt, feeling like she needed to be extra formal around him for some reason. He just gave off that vibe.

Heimdall's golden eyes flickered to Loki, "So he lives...interesting. I had truly thought him dead when he did not return from Svartalfheim, but he was simply avoiding my watch with the aid of his magic."

"Oh." Darcy wasn't really sure of what else to say. She hadn't actually given much thought to how Loki managed to hide himself from Heimdall's all-seeing eyes.

Heimdall continued, "The shield Loki constructed to hide himself from my view is no more. I felt it - and his body - collapse after completing Jane Foster's spell."

"Okay..." Darcy had no idea where he was going with this. Had he come just to perform some kind of weird monologue in front of her?

"During his collapse, I also felt something else. Something that may be of interest to you, Miss Lewis." The gatekeeper turned his eyes to Darcy.

"What's that?" Darcy asked in an exasperated tone. She was getting a little impatient with his cryptic, roundabout way of speaking.

"Your tether to Asgard has broken."

Well, that was nice and direct.

"What?" Darcy gaped at him.

"Perhaps you felt it?" Heimdall asked, studying her with his strange, vibrant eyes, "The magic bonding you to our realm is no more. You are free to return to Midgard when you please. Such was Loki's final act."

Now the snapping feeling she had felt in her chest made sense. "He _willingly_ released me from our contract?" Darcy asked, feeling a hundred different emotions wash over her at once. "And what do you mean, 'final act'? He's not actually dying, is he?"

"That I cannot say." Heimdall inclined his head, looking apologetic.

"Right," Darcy let out an annoyed huff, "Because telling me would be too easy and things have just been _SO _easy for me lately."

"I simply wished to inform you of your broken bond. Do what you will with that information." Heimdall placed his helmet back over his head, "Good day, Miss Lewis."

"Bye..." Darcy watched him go, feeling more confused than ever.

She turned back to Loki, looking down at his body with her lips set in a thin line, "You tricky bastard, what did you do?"


	7. Chapter 7

He was floating.

At least, it felt as if he were.

He could not open his eyes, could not move, but he was vaguely aware of his surroundings, though any noise was muffled as if it were lightyears away. His limbs were like lead and yet he felt weightless at the same time.

It reminded Loki of when, in their youth, he and Thor would go swimming in the pond behind their mother's gardens. Floating on his back in the pond, the gentle ripples of water would wash over him in a steady, soothing ebb and flow. For a moment, he could close his eyes, let the water cover his ears, and all would be silent.

He could simply..._exist_.

He felt like that now; oddly cut off from the world around him, his body sluggish and unresponsive.

For a fleeting moment, Loki wondered if this was how Frigga felt being cast out to sea.

She had been honored with a lovely, proper funeral fit for the most highly respected leader of Asgard. Thousands had taken part in the final farewell to Asgard's queen, honoring her life and mourning her loss. Of course, Thor had informed Loki of all of this afterwards, as Loki had not been granted witness to the event.

The memory was still disgustingly fresh in Loki's mind. The way Thor's eyes had been so sad, so full of _pity_ as he told Loki of the details of Frigga's funeral. Thor had spoken slowly and much more thoughtfully than Loki had ever thought possible, as if he were hoping that his words alone would somehow be enough for Loki.

It was not enough, it would _never_ be enough, and Loki had wanted very badly to claw that horrid, sympathetic look right off Thor's face. He did not need sympathy from anyone, let alone his would-be brother.

After all, this was not Loki's family. He had only been a pawn in Odin's war games. He had no brother. No father. No mother.

_Mother._

Thinking of Frigga caused an odd, uncomfortable pang in his chest. Perhaps it was grief, guilt or regret, he could not be sure, but Loki suspected that it was a heavy mixture of all three.

He wished he could hear her voice now. Even though he knew exactly what she would say. He can almost see her face, the gentle way she would scold him and tell him that this is not the Loki she loves. That he is better than this.

Lies.

And yet, he still wants her advice.

He wants to know what she would think of Darcy Lewis, the mouthy mortal who had unknowingly stumbled upon him and so quickly unraveled all of Loki's plans.

She was brave and headstrong in a way that fondly reminded Loki of a young Sif. Of course, that had been years and years ago when Sif had considered Loki to be a friend instead of a traitor.

Darcy Lewis was a complex spitfire, so unlike any woman Loki had ever known. She immediately sparked his interest and Loki had, quite stupidly, given in to his curiosity.

That had been his first mistake.

He had allowed himself to get too close. Maybe it was her abundance of attitude or her appreciation for mischief and trickery that had drawn him to her. Maybe he purely craved companionship. That was a disturbing thought that held more truth than Loki cared to admit.

It shouldn't have been a problem. Loki had gotten everything he wanted. Thor was besotted with that Foster woman and no longer cared to sit upon the throne of Asgard, leaving Loki free to rule the realm under the guise of Odin. And yet, it felt as if something were missing. He was not content. He would rather have each of his fingernails ripped out one by one before he ever admitted it aloud, but he was in fact _lonely_. It was a foolish, useless emotion but he could not shake it.

Forming a contract with the young mortal had been solely for his own entertainment, to relieve his isolation and boredom. He assumed that she would fear him as so many others did. He did not count on her fighting back, challenging him and downright insulting him at times. It was maddening, infuriating and...surprisingly refreshing.

So when he had come across her in the palace hallway that one night, he could not resist egging her on, seeing how far he could push her before she snapped. He expected her to run away, to scream or cry even, but he had not expected her to kiss him.

It should have been repulsive. He should have pushed her away, thrown out a hurtful insult, and retreated to Odin's chambers for the night. But he did not. Instead, he kissed her back.

That had been his second mistake.

Before he knew it, they were fucking against the wall and, Valhalla help him, he had_ enjoyed it_.

He should have distanced himself after that, dissolved their contract, and made himself forget that he had ever known the name Darcy Lewis. What did he do instead? He brought her to Nornheim and put her fragile, ridiculously short little lifespan in danger.

Loki was far from stupid. He was quick and clever and keenly aware of every possible outcome his actions could cause, but Darcy Lewis...well, she made him feel stupid.

She was constantly catching him off guard with her foul language and odd Midgardian phrases. She was a puzzle which he could not solve. It was horribly frustrating and sometimes he just wanted to scream in her face, but then she would smile at him with the corner of her mouth or dress herself in his tunic and _damn_.

It was after their journey to Nornheim, when they had bathed together and had slow, exquisite sex in the bath, that Loki had known that he could not bind her to Asgard any longer.

He knew it would be a risk. Even with all his preparations, he was conscious of the fact that he would just barely have enough stamina to absorb Jane Foster's illness and complete her healing spell. To attempt both the healing spell _and_ the necessary magic to free Darcy would be nearly impossible. Almost certainly a death sentence.

He had done it anyway, though.

Besides, he would rather perish by his own hand than be tossed back into one of Odin's jail cells like some common street criminal. As least this way he would die with a lighter conscience knowing that he had done everything within his power to make Darcy happy.

She was wild. She needed freedom and space. He could not cage her, and, he had realized with a sharp twist of emotion in his gut, if she was not content to be with him in Asgard, then _he_ would not be content.

She had made him soft, Loki realized uncomfortably, he was becoming far too contemplative.

_Or, _a voice in his head sounding suspiciously like Frigga reasoned, _perhaps she found the remains of your heart and is slowly sewing it back together_.

What a ridiculous thought. He would have scoffed if he could, if his body were not so weak and unresponsive.

Perhaps this was his fate - his purgatory - to lie here forever, awake in mind but dead in body. Trapped with only his thoughts to torture him for all of eternity. It was a horrifying prospect.

Loki could feel exhaustion beginning to creep over him again, that heavy numbness like water lapping at his skin, threatening to pull him under and drown him in quiet nothingness.

He pushed all thoughts from his mind and surrendered to the silence.

* * *

Darcy's butt was numb. She shifted in her chair, trying not to grimace as she struggled to find a more comfortable position. All the chairs in the small room were roughly constructed from the same hard wood and, in Darcy's opinion, they were nine kinds of uncomfortable.

According to Thor, the room had been used for centuries as a secret meeting location for war strategy and negotiations, so it only seemed fitting that they were all crowded in here now, attempting to decide the fate of a certain trickster criminal.

Darcy looked around the table, studying the faces of those Thor had asked to join in their meeting.

There was Sif, sitting tall and confident beside Darcy. Fandral, who, for once, was looking gravely serious as he leaned forward, his elbows braced on the table. Hogun, who Darcy didn't know much about, but he seemed very conscientious, like he always carefully weighed both sides of an issue before speaking. Beside him, Volstagg leaned back in his chair, one hand running through his thick beard. At the head of the table sat Thor, looking every bit a prince and leader, and at his side, a pale but healthy Jane was looking just as butt-numbingly uncomfortable as Darcy.

"Warriors Three, Sif," Thor announced, "I have called you here not just as the most trusted, loyal warriors of this kingdom, but as my friends. I seek a favour from you. As you know, as soon as my brother awakens he will be put on trial for his misdeeds, and I hope that you will consider standing with me in support of Loki."

The room went silent as its occupants mulled over Thor's request.

"Surely you cannot be serious," It was Sif who spoke first, a look of disgust briefly passing over her face.

When Darcy looked around the table, the others were wearing similar looks in varying degrees of outrage and shock. All except for Hogun, of course, who looked as neutral as ever. That guy was like a stone wall, Darcy thought.

"We already risked ourselves once for Loki when we freed him from the dungeons and what did he do for us in return?" Fandral spoke up, his fists clenching on the table top.

"He saved Jane's life and mine. In fact, he may have very well saved all of the nine realms; we could not have stopped Malekith without his help." Thor interrupted in a hard voice.

"He faked his death, caused the Allfather to fall into Odinsleep and deceived us all!" Fandral countered, his voice rising with anger.

"Thor," Volstagg interjected in what for him was a soft voice, "have you considered the possibility that Loki may be beyond saving? How many second chances are you willing to give him?"

"As many as it takes to set things right. He is my brother, I will never turn my back on him." Thor said tightly, his jaw set with determination.

"You are wasting your time," Sif crossed her arms, looking down at the table with a slight scowl, "The Loki we once knew is gone."

"He is selfish and greedy," Fandral added, "He only has his own interests at heart."

Darcy felt Thor's eyes land on her as he considered Fandral's comment, "Perhaps not anymore."

Her palms were sweating. Darcy rubbed them on her jeans, knowing that this was the perfect time for her to speak up. If she came clean about her contract with Loki, she could prove that he did still have some heart left in him. He had used the last of his magic to free her and nearly killed himself in the process. Surely that counted for something.

Of course, coming clean also meant that she would have to admit to the less than savory side of her contract with Loki: agreeing to be his 'play thing'. Darcy wasn't too keen on that.

"Loki didn't have to heal me but he did." Jane spoke up, her voice strong and steady despite her tired appearance. "There's your proof that he acted selflessly."

Fandral shook his head, "He must have had a hidden agenda. Loki is never helpful without it benefiting him in some way."

"He is unconscious." Thor stated plainly, "I think it is quite obvious that if he had a secret plan, he would not be lying in the infirmary right now."

"Maybe that is part of his plan." Fandral crossed his arms stubbornly.

"Erm," Darcy cleared her throat, raising her hand like she was back in grade school.

"Yes, Darcy. What say you?" Thor nodded to her.

"Weeeeell..." She squeezed her eyes shut, not wanting to see the reaction her comment would cause, "there actually might have been a hidden agenda."

"Aha!" Fandral smacked his palm down on the table as a pleased grin spread across his face, "I knew it!"

Beside Darcy, Sif muttered something that sounded like 'slippery bastard', while both Volstagg and Jane rolled their eyes.

"How do you know of this?" Hogun spoke for the first time. His eyes were fixed on Darcy and she squirmed under his steady, direct gaze.

"Um, I was kind of involved in it..." She cringed, finally daring to peek up and take a look at Jane's reaction.

Jane's face was an interesting (and slightly hilarious) combination of irritation and alarm, and Darcy saw the astrophysicist's eye twitch just a little as she responded, "Oh Darcy, what did you do?"

Darcy nibbled on her bottom lip, "It's a long and complicated story but basically there was a little fighting – okay, _a lot_ of fighting – some intimidation, blackmail, a really stupid plan sealed with magic, more fighting, a _teensy_ little bit of murder, and...uh...maybe some...kissing..." She trailed off quietly.

Everyone was staring at her.

"I believe we will require the long version of your tale." Thor finally spoke up, looking a bit bewildered.

"Damn," Darcy slouched down in the torture device that barely passed as a chair, "Okay. Settle in kids, it's story time..."

She told them everything (okay, so she glossed over some things, like her and Loki's very active sex life. That _really _didn't need to be spoken of). She explained how she stumbled across the real Odin in Odinsleep, how she bargained with Loki to have him heal Jane, and how Heimdall had visited her to confirm that Darcy was released from the magically bound contract.

When she finished, Darcy looked at Jane pleadingly, "It was the only way to save you. Please don't be mad."

"Mad?" Jane sighed, rubbing her forehead, "I'm not mad, Darcy. I want to be, trust me. It was incredibly stupid of you to make an agreement with Loki when you know he can't be trusted. But you sacrificed yourself...you were willing to give up _everything_...to save me." Jane sniffled, her eyes growing glassy with tears.

"Aw, don't do that." Darcy had only ever seen Jane cry once when she'd gotten a call from her mother breaking the news that her grandfather had died. It had been super awkward and uncomfortable and Darcy _hated _it because Jane was not supposed to cry. Jane was a superwoman. She was so focused and driven, she would simply channel her feelings into her science. Such an honest show of emotion from the astrophysicist was a pretty rare sight for Darcy.

"I just...I can't thank you enough." Jane wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her shirt, "Truly, Darcy. I owe you my life."

"Yeah, well...I couldn't just do nothing. You're my friend and I kinda love you and stuff." Darcy stared down at her hands that sat pressed together in her lap. God, she was so bad as this 'feelings' crap.

When she dared to look back up, Jane was grinning at her, "I kinda love you and stuff, too."

"I hate to interrupt such a lovely declaration of friendship," Fandral spoke, "but there is still the matter of deciding Loki's fate."

"Is one sincere action towards Lady Darcy enough to make up for all of Loki's past misdoings?" Volstagg mused, leaning back in his chair until the wood creaked.

"Under other circumstances, no it would not." Hogun answered, "However, we must remember that although his act of kindness may appear to be small in our eyes, change is still change. Loki is growing and repairing himself." He looked to Thor, nodding surely, "I believe that he can be redeemed. I will stand with you in support of Loki's character."

"Thank you, my friend." Thor inclined his head gratefully.

The rest of the table was quiet until Sif sighed loudly, "I will stand as well." She agreed, although it sounded a bit reluctant. She leaned towards Darcy whispering, "Should he hurt you, simply tell me and I would be pleased to drive my blade through his belly."

"Uh...thanks? I'll keep that in mind." Darcy tried not to gag at the mental image of Loki being flayed like a fish.

"I, too, will stand." Volstagg declared.

"For what it's worth, I'll stand too." Jane volunteered, "No matter what his reasons were, Loki did save my life twice. I at least owe him that."

Thor beamed at her, taking Jane's hand in his, "And you, Fandral?"

The blond warrior sighed as six pairs of eyes turned to him expectantly, "Oh alright. But if he betrays us again, I will be the one gutting him."

"I had first call." Sif argued, her lips pressed together tightly as she eyed Fandral with annoyance.

"Guys," Darcy interrupted, "Can you at least wait for Loki to wake up before you start calling dibs on who gets to stab him?"

"...I suppose we could share." Fandral offered reluctantly.

Sif gave a slow nod of her head, still unsatisfied but knowing that the compromise would be as good as it got for her.

"Now that that's been settled, I-" Thor was cut off as a frantic pounding sounded at the door.

Darcy jumped in her chair, startled by the noise. "Who the hell could that be?"

There was a chorus of murmurs and shrugs from everyone around the table. The meeting had been held in secret – no one was supposed to know where they were.

Thor moved towards the door cautiously, extending his hand to reach for the knob when Fayne threw open the door, bursting into the room.

Her eyes were wide and worried, causing a chill of fear to run down Darcy's spine as she took in the appearance of the head healer. Fayne wasn't the type to look ruffled or anxious, but right now she appeared to be both. There was no way she could be delivering good news.

"Thank Valhalla I've found you," Fayne spoke to Thor. She was slightly out of breath, as if she'd been running.

"What is the matter? Is it Loki?" Thor questioned, worry seeping into his voice.

"Not Loki," Fayne shook her head, "Odin. The true Allfather has awoken from Odinsleep and he wishes to see you _immediately_. He is angrier than the fires of Hel."

* * *

*queue dramatic music* uh oh, Odin is awake and he's not a happy camper! I hope you like the little change to Loki's POV as well.

If you're interested in reading a little fluff since there was zero Darcy/Loki interaction in this chapter, you can check out the super short, ultra cute drabble I wrote on Tumblr. I can't get the link to show properly here, but you can get to my Tumblr page from my profile and from there, just search 'tasertricks' :)


	8. Chapter 8

Darcy nervously paced the hallway outside of the throne room.

"You'll wear a hole through the floor if you keep that up." Jane commented from where she leaned against the wall watching Darcy.

"What do you think they're saying? Shouldn't Odin be screaming his head off or something? They're being too quiet." Darcy chewed her lip as she continued walking back and forth, back and forth. It was almost enough to make her dizzy, but she needed something, _anything_, to do to keep her mind off of what was happening behind that door.

Now that Odin was awake (and incredibly angry), he had the power to dish out any number of awful punishments to Loki quicker than you could blink an eye. Just thinking about it made Darcy's stomach churn with anxiety.

Would Odin strip Loki of his godly abilities and banish him like he'd done with Thor? If they were lucky, maybe, but Darcy suspected that Loki's punishment would be much, much worse. After all, Thor's only crime had been succumbing to the arrogant, headstrong attitude that came with being young and entitled. Loki on the other hand had a whole laundry list of horrible deeds that couldn't just be shrugged off with the excuse of not knowing any better.

"I'm sure it's fine, Darce." Jane assured her. A small smile passed over her lips as she watched her friend continue her frazzled, worried pacing, "So you really do care about Loki, huh?"

Darcy sighed, "I know it's hard to believe, and it sure as hell wasn't love at first sight or anything like that," she admitted, finally stopping to rest her back against the wall next to Jane, "I really wanted to punch him in his smug, pretty face the first time I met him...actually, I still want to do that sometimes."

"Don't we all." Jane said, rolling her eyes towards the ceiling. "Minus the 'pretty' part. Although I actually did slap him the first time we met. Arrogant bastard."

Darcy gaped at her, "For real?! You never told me that before!"

Jane shrugged, "I didn't think there was any point in mentioning it since we all thought he was dead after the Convergence."

"Wow, you actually smacked him. I've never been prouder of you." Darcy grinned, leaning over to bump her shoulder against Jane's.

Jane laughed, shaking her head. "I'm an astrophysicist with three degrees and _that's_ what impresses you?"

"My mind works in mysterious ways." Darcy replied. "A psychologist would love to get all up in here." She tapped the side of her head.

Jane laughed, "I don't doubt that."

The door to the throne room swung open and both women straightened up from their slouched positions as Thor emerged. His jaw was clenched and he had a weary, worn expression on his face.

Jane immediately stepped towards him, reaching up to place her hand on his cheek soothingly, "What happened?"

Thor covered her hand with his and brought it down to his lips, kissing her palm, "It took much convincing but my father has agreed to give Loki a fair trial once he awakens. He will have a chance to explain his actions before receiving any punishment."

"Good, that's only fair." Darcy nodded approvingly, "So I guess Odin wasn't big on the idea of 'innocent until proven guilty'?"

Thor shook his head, a brief look of anger passing over his features, "My father wished to strip Loki of his magic and throw him in the dungeons while he is still unwell. Without any magic to aid Loki's healing, it would have surely been a death sentence."

"Oh my God." The thought made Darcy queasy. Odin was an even bigger douche than she had originally thought if he was that willing to toss his son's unconscious body into a prison cell and let him wither away without a second thought.

"So what happens now?" Jane asked. She was grimacing as if she'd just been thinking the same awful thought as Darcy.

"We must simply wait for Loki to recover, then the trial will be held." Thor replied.

"But how much longer will that be?" Darcy tried to keep from sounding too whiney but she was starting to feel like all she ever did was wait around for people to wake up from comas. It was like her life had slowly become a badly written soap opera and she was getting really damn sick of it.

"It's already been three days since I woke up and Loki collapsed." Jane's eyes took on a distant, unfocused look that Darcy recognized all too well from their days in the lab. It was a sign that Jane was shifting into science mode, "If his healing time is a direct correlation to my healing time since he absorbed the illness from me, and taking into account the fact that his body heals much more quickly than a regular humans, I would say he'll be awake in another two days at the most."

"Wow," Darcy blinked, not at all expecting to get such an exact answer to her question, especially since she'd mostly just asked it out of bitchy frustration. "Okay, that's not so bad."

Thor nodded, a determined expression settling over his face, "Loki is strong. I am certain that he will soon wake."

"He'd better," Darcy threatened, "Or I'll force him awake just so I can punch his lights out and land that jerk in a coma all over again."

"That's certainly...violent." Jane commented, at a loss for any other words.

"Hey, we all process grief differently," Darcy shrugged nonchalantly, "I choose to hit stuff. Preferably with my taser." She grinned wickedly.

"Perhaps my brother has been a bad influence on her." Thor murmured quietly to Jane.

"No," Jane corrected, eyeing the feisty former intern, "If anything, Darcy's probably been a bad influence on _him_."

* * *

When Darcy made her daily visit to the infirmary to see Loki the next afternoon, she was greeted by a pleasant surprise.

"Hey, look at you! Not blue anymore." She settled into the chair beside Loki's bed, taking in his appearance.

The change in his skin colour was a small improvement in his condition, meaning that enough of Loki's magic had returned to allow his body to make the change back to its preferred Asgardian form.

Now if he would just wake up, Darcy thought.

Silly as it may have seemed, she had started talking to Loki during each of her visits to his bedside. Darcy had binge-watched her fair share of medical dramas, so she knew that talking to a coma patient could possibly help their condition. Maybe it was all a load of crap, but she was willing to give it a try on Loki anyway. Plus, it was way too quiet and awkward when she just sat there watching him silently like some creeper.

"How ya doing today, Sleeping Beauty?" She asked him, "Or maybe I should call you Snow White instead, but you probably don't know who either of those people are, do you? It's too bad this isn't a fairytale though," she looking down at his relaxed, sleeping face, "then I could wake you up with a kiss or some stupid shit like that."

She scooted forward on the edge of her seat, considering leaning in for a quick peck but then she shook her head, "Don't be a dumbass, Darcy."

Slouching back into her chair with a sigh, she started talking.

"So today was..._interesting_." Darcy told him, reaching out to run her fingers down the back of his hand, "Odin woke up and the whole palace went bananas. It was a total shit storm."

She stopped and wet her lips before she continued, "Odin wanted to...God, the things he wanted to do to you were insane and despicable and a hundred other adjectives I can't think of right now. Luckily Thor got him to change his mind. You're getting a real trial now instead of an immediate punishment. We're all going to speak as your character witnesses...me, Jane, even Fandral and Sif...it's going to be a whole production. You're gonna love it, you big attention hog."

Loki didn't answer of course, but Darcy continued anyway, "You really owe Thor, you know. He totally saved your ass today. When you wake up, do you think you could be just the _teensiest _bit nicer to him? Like, you don't have to start giggling and braiding each others hair, just maybe smile at him once in a while and try not to stab him."

She sighed, briefly removing her glasses to rub her eyes that were beginning to prickle with the tears of her building frustration.

"Damn, I wish you'd wake up. Get working on that, okay? I...I miss you." She admitted, threading her fingers through his and squeezing gently. His hand was large and warm against hers and she wished with every fiber of her being that he would squeeze back.

"You shouldn't have released me from our contract. Then you wouldn't be lying here half-dead and I think I could have learned to like being stuck here with you. Actually, I was already starting to like it. God, you choose the worst time to suddenly be all honorable and do the right thing."

There was a soft knock on the door, drawing Darcy out of her one-sided conversation. When she turned, she saw Jane poke her head into the room.

"It's almost dinner time, Darce. You coming?"

"Yeah," Darcy slipped her hand out of Loki's, "You go ahead. I'm right behind you."

Jane nodded and when she shut the door, Darcy turned back to Loki. She leaned over him and whispered in his ear. "I'm going to come back later tonight, okay?"

Impulsively, she bent her head and kissed him. When she pulled back, she frowned as nothing happened. She knew it wouldn't work (when in real life had a kiss ever actually woken someone who was comatose?) but that didn't make it any less disappointing.

* * *

That night, Darcy went through her usual bedtime routine of tooth brushing, face washing, and dressing in one of Loki's over-sized linen shirts. Then she grabbed her light orb, slipped her feet into her sneakers, and set off for the infirmary.

As she walked down the dark hall with her little light ball guiding the way, she couldn't help her mind from wandering back to the night she'd encountered Loki in this very hallway, similarly dressed in one of his shirts. The way he'd pushed her against the wall and kissed her so desperately...God, Darcy had never wanted anything as badly as she'd wanted him in that moment. So she made it happen. That had been one hell of a crazy, impulsive act, even for her.

He could have killed her. He could have easily knocked her up with some freaky hybrid human-Jotunn-Aesir baby too, she had later realized much to her chagrin. Darcy had a sudden horrible mental image of some demon spawn forcing its way out of her, like in every bad alien horror movie ever made. She shuddered, forcing away that thought.

Thankfully, her IUD seemed to work on crazy space sperm. Or maybe Loki had a hand in things by using a contraceptive spell. Did those actually exist? Of course, it was possible that their bodies were just plain incompatible and they would never be able to have a baby, even if they'd wanted to. For some odd, unknown reason, that thought made her a little sad.

Okay, her mind was wandering down an outrageously insane path. Was she seriously disappointed by the idea that she could never pop out some cranky, whining little Loki Junior?

_Ugh._

"I'm losing my mind." Darcy grumbled, finally reaching the infirmary and pushing the door open.

The room was incredibly dark and Darcy bit back a curse when she banged her shin against the edge of Loki's bed.

"Ow, Dammit! Where were you on that one, Lighty?" She narrowed her eyes at the light ball sitting in her palm.

Darcy set the ball down on the table next to the bed as she moved one of Loki's arms off the mattress and gently laid it across his stomach, creating just enough room for her to climb onto the bed and sit herself down beside him.

She wiggled into a somewhat comfortable position. Loki was a lot broader than he looked so she was kind of squished into his side so she wouldn't fall off the edge of the mattress.

"Hey, you miss me?" Darcy whispered, leaning her head against his shoulder, "Cause I kind of missed you. Just a little bit. I'm actually here for a selfish reason, though." She admitted, "I'm dead tired but I can't fall asleep. You screwed me up and now I can't go to bed without you there. It just feels too empty. Funny cause all you ever did was hog the blankets or lay on my hair which is _so_ not cool when I need to get up in the middle of the night to pee."

Darcy turned her head, pressing her nose into the fabric of his shirt. It smelled like him; warm and leathery and spicy, and she found herself instantly relaxing from the soothing familiarity of it, "Anyway, I really need a good night's sleep so I'm here."

She closed her eyes for a moment, absorbing the sound of Loki's quiet, even breathing, "I don't even know if you can hear any of this. If you can, I'm probably driving you totally nuts and liquefying your brain, aren't I? Here you are trying to recover and I'm yammering on and on about random junk." She smiled a little, knowing that if he were able to, Loki would have repeatedly told her to shut up about eighty times by now.

"You'll be fine though." She snuggled further into his side. "If you can survive the Darcy Lewis Never Ending Monologue, you can survive anything."

She stayed pressed against him as she lapsed into silence. One of her arms was slung over his stomach in a half-embrace and her legs brushed against his. She wasn't quite sure if she was trying to comfort him or herself.

Quicker than she'd expected, Darcy fell into a deep, restful sleep and it was only the pins-and-needles pain of her arm falling asleep that finally woke her a few hours later.

She pushed herself up into a sitting position with a groan, shaking out the numb arm she'd been lying on. "Damn, I need to go back to my room soon. Don't want to get caught in here." She said to Loki, pushing her sleep tousled hair out of her eyes.

Darcy reached for her light ball, squinting when the bright light hit her in the eyes, momentarily blinding her. "Could you tone it down a little?"

Surprisingly, the ball seemed to listen to her. The harsh white light faded to a soft, muted glow and Darcy smiled happily, "Thanks, Lighty."

As she looked down at the sphere resting in her palms, Darcy recalled the day she and Loki had held the ball together, making the light turn that neat green colour. She snorted, not able to hold back her laughter at the thought of touching balls with Loki.

"I wonder..." Darcy said aloud to herself, twisting to sit back on the bed facing Loki. She reached for his arm, turning over his limp hand so his palm rested facing up. She gently placed the light orb in his hand before closing her own hand over top of it.

She was totally unprepared for what happened next, as evidenced by the fact that she fell right off the mattress and landed hard on the floor.

As soon as her hand had touched the light ball along with Loki's, a bright explosion of green light had burst from the orb. It was enough to make her see spots in front of her eyes...and fall off the bed, apparently.

"Oh shit, what did I do now?" Darcy groaned, rubbing her sore hip as she sat in a heap on the floor.

"You just can't stay out of trouble, can you, pet?"

Darcy froze, her heart hammering in her chest at the sound of the familiar, taunting voice.

She looked up and found Loki watching her with a small, wry smile.

Scrambling to her feet, Darcy crossed her arms over her chest, trying to look stern when all she really wanted to do was throw herself at him and sob with relief.

"And you can't pass up an opportunity to make me look like an ass, can you, sweet cheeks?" She said dryly, pressing her lips together firmly as she schooled her features into a serious look.

It worked for all of ten seconds before she saw a glitter of amusement in Loki's eyes and a wide smile broke out on her face.

Her chest felt lighter than it had in days and she had to reach up to wipe away an unexpected stray tear that had somehow managed to climb its way down her cheek.

"You arse," Darcy punched him in the arm lightly, "I almost thought you were dead."

Loki caught her arm as she went to pull away, tugging until Darcy wound up leaning over the bed, half lying on top of him.

"I am much harder to get rid of than you may think." He smiled. His face looked weary and pinched, the smile not fully reaching his eyes, but to Darcy it was one of the most beautiful sights she'd ever seen.

She reached out, her fingers lightly tracing over his features; the small wrinkles around his eyes, the sharp angles of his cheekbones, before she brought her mouth down onto his.

Loki sighed into her mouth and Darcy felt his whole body relax, the rigid stiffness of his muscles fading away as their bodies melted together. She pushed herself further up onto the bed until she was straddling him with one leg on either side of his lap, all the while never breaking their kiss.

Loki's tongue swept into her mouth and a shiver of excitement ran up Darcy's spine.

God, she had missed this.

She didn't realize she had said it out loud until Loki quietly murmured "As have I."

That broke Darcy out of her trance and she reluctantly pulled back, catching her breath and taking the opportunity to quiz him, "So what happened? Was it the light ball that woke you up? That weird flash didn't hurt you, did it?"

"Hush, there is plenty of time for talk later." Loki's hand wound its way into her hair, guiding her head down into another deep kiss.

Darcy was about to argue until she felt his other hand slide up the back of her shirt, his fingers running along her spine and leaving a trail of fire in their wake. She moaned as a sudden, sharp pang of desire shot through her.

Her hands slid to the front of his shirt where she started undoing buttons. She had only managed two of them when a surprised and slightly horrified exclamation came from across the room.

"Oh my God! Sorry! I'm so sorry!" Jane's face was bright red as she stammered out an apology, one hand held up to cover her eyes.

Beside her, Thor was looking equally embarrassed as he awkwardly cleared his throat and looked anywhere but at the couple on the bed. "Brother, you are awake! Apologies for disturbing you. Perhaps we should return later."

"Yes, perhaps you should." Loki said rudely.

Darcy felt him tense under her, his fingers digging into the skin of her back. She swatted his hands away, issuing a firm order of "be nice" under her breath as she scrambled off the bed. She tried to fight the blush that was creeping onto her cheeks as she faced Jane and Thor.

"Hi guys," She straightened out her shirt that had started to ride up her thighs thanks to Loki's wandering hands, "So yeah...Loki's alive."

"Very much alive from the looks of it." Thor said quietly, eyeing Loki's messy bed and Darcy's current state of undress.

Jane elbowed him in the ribs. "That's good." She said to Darcy, "It's a day earlier than I thought it would be. I guess my calculation was wrong."

Darcy shook her head, "No, you were probably right. I think I might have just sped up the process a little."

"How?" Jane asked curiously.

"He's gonna have to answer that one." Darcy pointed to Loki, "I have no fucking clue."

At that, Loki let out a full, rich laugh as he swung his legs off the side of the bed.

Darcy could see his jaw tighten with the effort it took for him to stand. She wanted to make him to lie back down but she held her tongue. She had the feeling that Loki simply refused to appear weak in front of Thor.

"So it would appear that a full team of Asgard's finest healers could do nothing to improve my health and yet Darcy has managed to do so by accident?" Loki gave a quick flash of a grin that seemed to say _that's my girl _and Darcy felt herself blush.

"I just wanted to make the light ball do that pretty colour thing..." she trailed off weakly, cringing at how dumb her explanation sounded.

Loki retrieved the ball from where it lay forgotten on the bed. He tossed it up into the air and caught it smoothly, "Do you recall when I told you how I created this orb?" He looked at Darcy.

"Yeah," She nodded, "Your first spell."

"That's correct." Loki stepped closer to her and Darcy had to look up to see his face, "The orb operates on a small reserve of my magic. When you placed it in my hand, the magic held by the orb transferred back to me. Apparently it provided the final boost of energy that I required."

"Like jump-starting a car." Jane was nodding as if it all made perfect sense to her.

Loki looked at her with a bland expression, "I know nothing of your Midgardian motor vehicle contraptions." He said bluntly.

Jane's cheeks went pink with a mixture of anger and embarrassment. When she turned to say something to Thor, Darcy poked Loki roughly in the chest.

"Hey, I thought I said be nice." She hissed.

"_Nice_ is not in my nature." Loki gave her a dark, devilish grin. He tossed the light ball to Darcy as he breezed past her.

Darcy fumbled to catch the orb, nearly dropping it on the ground. "Ass," she muttered with a roll of her eyes, "I can't believe I missed you."


	9. Chapter 9

Darcy didn't think she'd ever been this nervous before.

Not at her first piano recital when she was six and had fumbled part way through Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, her fingers slipping and mashing two of the wrong keys.

Not when she was twelve and she'd been dared by her friends to kiss Josh Stevenson on the lips out in the school yard (he had run away afterwards and refused to speak to her for a week).

Not even when she was twenty-three and walked across the stage in front of a full auditorium to collect her poli-sci diploma after _finally_ earning those last damn credits she had so desperately needed.

Yep, this was definitely the most nervous and uncomfortable day of Darcy's life.

She tugged at the neckline of her navy blue gown until Jane shot her a look that said _stop fidgeting_.

Darcy just couldn't sit still though, and the fancy Asgardian dress she wore didn't help matters any. She had wanted to wear her regular jeans and sneakers but Thor had nixed that idea pretty quickly.

"This is an important formal event, Darcy." He had said, "We must all be at top form if we are to successfully help Loki."

So she had begrudgingly agreed to wear the gown. For Thor's sake. For _Loki's _sake.

It really was a beautiful dress. The material was soft and fluid with thousands of little diamond-like stones sewn into the fabric, making it sparkle like the night sky.

Unfortunately, she just wasn't built like Sif or Fayne or any of the other Aesir women, so the bust was too tight and the rest was too long, the extra fabric pooling on the floor around her feet. There hadn't been time for alterations; Odin had demanded that Loki's trial begin as soon as possible after he woke up, so Darcy was left feeling like a kid playing dress-up in her mother's fancy, too-big clothes.

Beside her, Jane was a picture of lovely elegance in a warm, bronze coloured dress that fit her perfectly. Apparently, she had worn it before on her first trip to Asgard. Jane had explained this to Darcy earlier when Darcy had shot her an incredulous (and maybe a little jealous) look.

God, the seams of her dress really needed to be let out; she felt like her ribs were being squeezed in a vice. Darcy just prayed that (a) she wouldn't pass out, and (b) the side of the dress wouldn't split open and flash her boobage to a room full of Asgard's most influential citizens.

With a sigh, Darcy clasped her hands in her lap, trying to fight the urge to fidget and pick at the dress. Instead, she gazed around the throne room, hoping that a little people-watching might take her mind off of how uncomfortable she was.

The room was set up almost like a wedding, Darcy thought. Six long rows of chairs had been set up on either side of Odin's throne and a long, red carpet stretched down the centre of the divide. Every single chair was occupied and Darcy felt a fresh wave of nervousness hit her when she realized that she'd be speaking in front of this massive crowd, trying to plead with them to understand and forgive Loki.

Right now it felt like a nearly impossible task.

A small murmur passed through the crowd, catching Darcy's attention. Looking up, she saw that all the whispering was caused by the appearance of Odin – the _real _Odin – who was currently ascending the throne.

He sat on the wide stone chair, grasping a tall staff in one hand and Darcy jumped in her seat when he suddenly banged the end of the staff on the ground, sending a loud echo through the room.

"Attention," Odin called, his voice firm and booming in a very authoritative manner, "As you know, we are here to determine the fate of my son, Loki Odinson. He is accused of such heinous deeds as escaping his prison confines, committing treason against Asgard, and impersonating the Allfather." Odin turned his attention to the back of the room where a group of guards stood by the large double doors, "Bring him in."

The doors were opened with a loud, long creak. Every head in the room, including Darcy's, turned at the sound.

With dread settling low in her belly, she watched as Loki was escorted up the path in the centre of the room. His arms and legs rattled noisily from the complicated metal cuffs that attached to his wrists and ankles.

A smirk was plastered on his face as he strolled up the aisle, daring any of the onlookers to make eye contact with him. Darcy wanted to reach over and slug the big idiot. Couldn't he be humble for thirty seconds? This wasn't some little slap on the wrist punishment, this was a huge deal that could decide the fate of his future.

"Loki," Odin's face took on a sour look, "What do you have to say for yourself?"

Loki heaved a great sigh, as if he were hugely inconvenienced by being there, "Must we go through all of this again?"

Darcy noticed that Odin's gaze briefly flickered to Thor, as if he were saying 'See? I told you this was a waste of time'.

Thor's jaw tightened but he said nothing.

"You do not wish to explain your actions? To defend yourself?" Odin's eyebrows rose as he studied Loki.

"Why should I?" Loki responded snidely, "It's not as though you will believe my words."

"There are ways around your lies, Loki." Odin stated bluntly, "Shall we retrieve the sword?" The Allfather tilted his head as if he were seriously contemplating this option.

Darcy saw Loki's face drain of all its colour. He was afraid, she realized as a flare of panic erupted in her chest. What could possibly make Loki look that nervous?

"What's he talking about?" She leaned over and anxiously whispered to Thor who sat on the far side of Jane. "What sword?"

"It is called _Sannhet Sverd_, The Truth Sword." Thor replied quietly, his hands clenched tightly in his lap, "Holding the sword not only forbids one from speaking a lie, but it also causes agonizing mental and physical pain."

"Oh great." Darcy muttered.

"There is no need for that." Loki finally answered, his face becoming blank and impassive as he tried to hide his uneasiness.

"Then speak the truth." Odin demanded.

Loki shook his head, letting out a loud, barking laugh, "Are you daft, old man? Do you truly expect me to seek your forgiveness? To grovel and beg for your mercy?"

"Very well then," Odin looked weary as he sat back in his throne, "If you will not hold yourself accountable for your actions, then I will imprison the whole lot of you."

A few shocked gasps and murmurs ran through the crowd and Darcy sucked in a quick, surprised breath.

This wasn't supposed to happen.

"I lay charge to the following persons who have disgraced Asgard by aiding in the criminal deeds of Loki Odinson," Odin declared in a hard, unyielding voice. He took a deep breath then announced the first name, "Thor Odinson."

"No!" Jane had bolted up from her seat, her eyes blazing with heat.

"Jane Foster." Odin continued, completely ignoring Jane's outburst, "Darcy Lewis. The Warriors Three. Lady Sif. Any others who have aligned themselves with Loki will be seen fit to join them in the dungeons."

It was a strange feeling, being sentenced to prison on a planet that wasn't even your own, Darcy thought. As Odin said her name, the noise of the throne room had faded away into the background only to be replaced by a loud roaring in her ears. Her body felt cold and numb, like she was oddly detached from it.

It was Thor's booming voice that finally pulled Darcy out of her zombie-like state.

"Father," Thor was outright pleading, "You have not even given us an opportunity to speak on the matter. We have all prepared statements-"

"No, Thor." Odin interrupted him with a slow shake of his head, "Loki has chosen this outcome. We must accept the consequences of his decision."

In all of the chaos, Darcy had almost forgotten that Loki was still in the room; he was being so unnaturally quiet. It wasn't until his chains rattled that Darcy looked over at him, gauging his reaction.

"Imprisoned?" Loki said the word slowly. There was a confused, almost startled, expression on his face that made him look incredibly young, "You would jail all of them?"

"So let it be spoken, so let it be done." The Allfather confirmed. He turned his head, addressing two of the four guards who stood alongside Loki, "See that space has been cleared in the dungeons for Asgard's newest criminals. Two cells should suffice, one for the men and one for the women."

The guards bowed their heads in acknowledgement before walking down the long aisle. They reached the door, pushing it open and –

"Stop."

Loki's voice rang out.

It wasn't loud; wasn't harsh or angry.

It was one simple word spoken so suddenly that he seemed surprised it had even left his mouth.

"Spare them." He demanded quietly, his eyes darting towards Darcy as he spoke.

When their eyes met, Darcy moved her head a fraction in a small nod of encouragement. _Keep going_, she willed him to hear the words in her head, _talk to him. Be honest for once_.

"Tell me one reason why I should." Odin gazed at Loki, curiously watching the unspoken exchange between his son and the mortal girl.

"Because..." Loki faltered, looking down at his bound hands. He wet his lips before continuing, "they are innocent. I claim sole responsibility for my actions."

Odin's face was hard and critical, as if he were not yet convinced that Loki truly meant what he said, "And where has this sudden bout of compassion come from? Could it be...?" He turned his head to the side, his good eye boring into Darcy with enough intensity to make her sweat.

Her dress suddenly felt like it was three sizes too small, making her skin hot and her stomach queasy. She wouldn't give Odin the satisfaction of seeing her so uncomfortable though, so Darcy evenly returned his gaze, sitting with her back straight and her chin raised. She plastered a thin, fake smile onto her face.

Time ticked away. It was probably only two, three seconds but to Darcy, those were the longest, most agonizing moments of her life. Odin was the first to look away, his eyes falling back to his son, and Darcy let out the breath she didn't realize she'd been holding.

Loki's jaw was tight, a muscle in his cheek ticking with restrained anger. Odin noticed this and a brief look of surprise crossed his face.

"So it is true then. Are all the women of Asgard so undesirable that both of my sons must seek out companionship on Midgard?" Odin grumbled, "Shall our realm never again see a true Aesir queen?"

Loki snorted, shaking his head, "You speak as if you did not pass off a Jotunn as your own offspring. Obviously you were not so concerned with bloodlines when you chose to call me your child." He sneered the last words, his face twisting with bitterness.

"I saved your life," Odin stated, his voice sharp, "I chose to call you my son out of compassion. There were no politics involved."

"Liar." Loki hissed, his eyes burning with contempt.

Darcy resisted the urge to do a facepalm as Loki continued to scowl at the Allfather. Did he always have to be so argumentative? Some day his luck was going to run out and his fighting nature was going to get him killed. Like, dead-dead and not just 'haha-made-you-think-I'm-dead'.

Evidently, Odin was growing impatient with Loki was well.

"Enough!" The Allfather's voice was loud enough to make Darcy jump in her seat. "Your lineage is of no matter; we are here to discuss your punishment and nothing else. You say you are willing to take sole responsibility for your actions in order to spare the others. Is this so?"

Loki's mouth was set in a firm, hard line as he struggled to keep himself from verbally tearing into Odin. His anger was almost visible, simmering just beneath the surface of his skin like a pot of water perilously close to boiling over.

He looked up into the face of the Allfather and gave a single, sharp nod.

"Very well." A look of relief flickered across Odin's face, almost too quick to catch."Then let us discuss the terms of your sentence."

* * *

"Holy fuckballs, that was intense." Darcy leaned against the railing of her bedroom balcony.

"Sure was." Jane was sitting on the bench across from her, carefully removing all the pins in her hair that had been holding up her elaborate up-do.

None of the servants had offered to do Darcy's hair before the trial, she thought with a small tug of disappointment. Probably because they'd had their hands full just trying to squeeze Darcy into that God awful tiny-waisted dress.

She took a deep breath, enjoying the feeling of her ribs being able to fully expand now that she was back in her usual ensemble of jeans and a tee.

"So what do you think of Loki's punishment?" Jane asked her, adding another fancy golden bobby pin to her growing pile.

Darcy shrugged a shoulder, "Anything that isn't a death sentence is a win in my books. Loki's going to be a total dickwad about it though. Taking instructions from mortals? God, we're never gonna hear the end of it from him."

Jane grinned, "Can you imagine the look on Fury's face when he finds out that Loki is about to be his newest Avenger?"

"Bet you ten bucks his head explodes like a volcano. Poof!" Darcy waved her hands, mimicking a giant eruption.

"Will he actually agree to it though?" Jane asked, looking thoughtful.

"He has no choice," Darcy replied, "I mean, saying no would make Odin super unhappy and unhappy Odin equals no special perks or protection for us mortals. Can you imagine if Earth had another alien attack and no help came from Thor or his warrior buddies? Fury can't risk it."

There was a short knock on the bedroom door before Thor cautiously poked his head inside. "Greetings Jane, Darcy," he joined them on the balcony, "I hope we are not interrupting."

Looking to the side of Thor's muscular frame, Darcy saw that Loki was trailing behind him, his shackles gone but his scowl still firmly in place.

"No interruption at all, we were just discussing Loki's new job title." Jane stood, stepping forward to plant a kiss on Thor's cheek. He pulled her close, wrapping one arm around her waist and tucking her against his side. Jane beamed up at him happily.

Darcy turned her eyes towards Loki, waiting to see if he would give her any kind of similar greeting. Yeah, right. She had better odds of winning the lottery. Or being sucked up into a sharknado.

Loki must have felt her eyes on him because he shuffled forward reluctantly, coming to a stop when there was still a good two feet of space between himself and Darcy.

"Hello." He said quietly, clasping his hands behind his back as his gaze fixed firmly on the floor.

Darcy tilted her head to the side, staring at him, "What the fuck is wrong with you?"

"_Excuse me_?" Surprised, Loki's eyes shot up to meet hers.

"You're being a total Sulky McCrabbyPants." Darcy accused, crossing her arms over her chest, "What's your deal?"

Loki gritted his teeth. When he spoke, his words were clipped, "I am angry, alright? I want nothing to do with the Avengers."

"Yeah well tough beans, Princess." Darcy fixed him with a stern look, "You're getting no sympathy from me. Being forced to do Fury's dirty work is a hell of a lot better than a death sentence, or rotting away in a prison cell, or losing your magic, or having your tongue cut out, or-"

Loki held up a hand, cutting off her rant, "Fine. I acknowledge that things could perhaps be worse, but this is utterly demeaning. Being at the beck and call of your Director Fury, taking commands as if I were a dog..." he trailed off as his face went dark with anger.

When he spoke again, his voice was hard and steady, "I am no one's servant. I am a king."

Darcy wasn't sure if he was speaking to her or trying to reassure himself.

"Yeah, and being the king worked out _reeeeal_ well for you, didn't it?" Darcy couldn't resist the jab. After all, his stupid plan of pretending to be Odin had gotten him into this whole mess.

"It would be wise for you to shut your mouth before I shut it for you." Loki's voice was low but it held no real threat, like he couldn't be bothered to muster enough energy to properly intimidate her.

That's when Darcy noticed the slump of his shoulders and the dark smudges of tiredness under his eyes. He looked utterly exhausted, like a walking zombie, and concern instantly bloomed in Darcy's chest.

"When was the last time you slept?" She lowered her voice so Jane and Thor wouldn't overhear, "You're still recovering, Loki. You need to rest."

"I'm fine," he muttered, looking anything but.

"Brother!" Thor approached them with Jane still tucked under his arm. His face looked bright and free of worry. Darcy couldn't remember the last time she had seen him look so happy. "I owe you my thanks. You saved us all from imprisonment."

Loki shrugged off the praise, looking uncomfortable, "I suppose I owed you. Consider my debt to be paid."

"Okay, can I just interrupt for a sec?" Darcy interjected, the tone of her voice growing higher the more irritated she became, "Just what the hell was Odin thinking anyway, throwing us all in jail? I don't even live on this fucking planet! Shouldn't I have space law immunity or something?"

"Relax, my friend." Thor patted her on the shoulder. He leaned close, whispering so only she could hear, "I suspect my father knew all along that Loki would come to our defense. We were never truly at risk."

"You're saying that Odin manipulated him?" Darcy whispered back, her eyes sliding over to study Loki.

When Thor nodded affirmatively, Darcy let out a long sigh. A slow, throbbing headache was starting to build behind her eyes. This day was just too fucking crazy for her brain to properly handle.

Darcy had to admit, it had been a clever plan: threaten to toss everyone Loki had ever considered to be a friend into a jail cell and then cross your fingers that the trickster still cared enough to step up and do the right thing.

Clever, yes, but also incredibly risky. What if Loki had done nothing, sending Darcy and the others to the dungeons? Not only would Odin have been imprisoning Thor, the heir to the throne, but he would have also put Sif and the others, four of the realm's strongest and most loyal warriors, behind bars. He would have basically been destroying the future of Asgard.

Yeah, Darcy definitely wouldn't be nominating Odin for any World's Best Ruler awards any time soon. No gold stars for him.

"So brother, what say you? Shall we return to Midgard?" Thor asked brightly, his hand landing heavily on Loki's shoulder, "I believe it is by far time that I properly introduced you to the Avengers."

* * *

It was a typical November day in New York. The wind blew sharp and cold, slicing through Darcy's body like the blade of a knife. Despite her wool jacket and thick knitted scarf, she still shivered.

The sky was dreary and cloudless, a giant expanse of slate grey stretching over her head. It was making an already bad day seem even more depressing.

They stood in a circle on the roof of Tony Stark's tower: her, Jane, Thor, and Loki.

The two Asgardians had just come from their meeting with Director Fury where Thor had informed him that Loki would be spending a probationary period with the Avengers, working with them to make amends for his past actions.

When Darcy had asked how well the meeting went, Loki had merely scowled while Thor replied rather generously, saying that Fury would require more time to adjust to the addition of his newest Avenger, which Darcy took to mean that the Director had probably burst a blood vessel and kicked the two Gods out of his office. Fury really didn't do low-key reactions.

"So what now?" Jane was the first to speak as she tugged up the collar of her coat to ward off the chill.

"The Man of Fury will contact us through Heimdall whenever we are needed." Thor explained. His cheeks were pink but otherwise he looked completely unperturbed by the weather, "For now, Loki and I shall return to Asgard. There are still many amends to be made there."

"When will I see you again?" Jane asked, her voice turning quiet.

Thor's eyes softened and he pulled Jane into his arms, murmuring reassuring words to her.

Darcy stepped over to Loki's side, grabbing the sleeve of his long leather coat and tugging at it, "C'mon, let's give them some privacy. Also, I'd rather not barf up my lunch when they start playing tonsil hockey."

"I do not know what that means but it sounds horrifying." Loki allowed her to lead him across the roof where Darcy took refuge from the wind behind a large steel box housing the building's central air unit.

"So I guess this is goodbye," Darcy said, shoving her hands into her coat pockets while feeling a little awkward and more than a little sad.

"I have something for you...a parting gift." Loki reached into a hidden pocket within his jacket and pulled out his light orb.

"Lighty!" Darcy exclaimed, happily plucking the ball out of his hand. It pulsed brightly in her palm as she carefully slipped the light ball into her coat pocket. "Thank you," she looked up at Loki earnestly, "Really. I promise I'll take good care of it."

The simple sincerity of his gift caused unexpected tears to gather in her eyes. She brushed them away with the heel of her hand, hoping that Loki hadn't noticed.

He had, of course, and now he was looking at her with a soft, sad expression.

"Darcy..." He started to say something but then seemed to change his mind, closing his eyes for a moment and shaking his head slightly. "I cannot tell you that I love you," He confessed.

His eyes darted down to the ground as if he were afraid of seeing her reaction. When he looked back up, he visibly swallowed, his face taking on a pained expression, "I am not certain that I truly know what love is."

"Oh, Loki." Darcy moved closer to him, looking up at his handsome face. Her chest ached and for a moment she wondered if maybe her heart was actually breaking for him.

"I know nothing of love, but I do know that I care for you as I have never cared for any other being." His voice was low and strong, brimming with feeling, "I would tear down the world for you, Darcy Lewis. Burn cities and rip the sun from the sky."

Darcy threw her arms around him, hugging tightly, "I know, it's okay." She spoke the words into the warm skin of his neck, taking one last opportunity to feel him against her. She wanted to imprint every small detail of him into her memory; the sound of his voice, the smell of his skin, the way his fingers splayed across her back as he held her.

"Brother," Thor's voice broke their little moment, causing Loki to pull away from Darcy in a quick, jerky movement, "It is time."

"Right." Loki adjusted his jacket, looking slightly embarrassed at having been caught acting so sentimental in front of Thor.

"Take care of yourself, okay?" Darcy cleared her throat, trying to keep her voice from cracking.

Loki nodded stiffly. He took a few steps towards Thor and then hesitated, looking back at Darcy. His expression seemed to say _to hell with it _and in three long strides, he was back in front of her, pulling Darcy into his arms and kissing her fiercely.

The heat of his mouth made her dizzy. Darcy slipped her hands inside his jacket, running her fingers over the various straps and buckles of his Asgardian outfit, wishing she could strip it all off of him right now.

As if he knew exactly what she was thinking, Loki made a low noise in his throat before he pulled away. He pressed one last kiss to the side of her neck before bringing his lips to rest on the shell of her ear.

"Until we meet again, Darcy." He whispered, his breath hot across her chilled skin. The way his voice rolled over the 'r' in her name made her shiver in a way that was most definitely not related to the cold.

She wished she had some smart, sexy reply for him but all she managed to get out was a strangled 'yes' before he released her, stepping back towards Thor.

Reluctantly, she followed the brothers over to the main expanse of the roof where Jane waited.

"Darcy," Thor inclined his head toward her gratefully, "You have my sincerest thanks for your efforts to heal Jane and aid my brother. You are a true lionheart and I would be honored to fight by your side on any day."

"Aw, thanks big guy." Darcy wrapped her arms around his torso, giving him a squeeze. "You're not so bad yourself."

Thor chuckled and patted her back warmly. "Are you ready, brother?" He asked Loki after Darcy had moved away to join Jane at the edge of the roof.

"Do I have a choice?" Loki questioned dryly as he walked over to stand by Thor's side.

"Farewell, Jane, Darcy." Thor nodded to them before lifting his face to the sky and calling for Heimdall.

She would never get used to seeing the Bifrost work, Darcy thought as brilliant light exploded out of the sky, momentarily blinding her. Those Asgardians sure knew how to make one hell of an entrance and exit.

When the last of the lights faded, Darcy and Jane stood looking down at the remains of smoke rising off the scorch marks the Bifrost had burned into the rooftop.

An odd, empty silence settled over the pair, only broken by the occasional car alarm and other sounds of traffic on the street below them.

"They'll be back." Jane reached for Darcy's hand, squeezing her fingers tightly. The astrophysicist's hand was like ice, chilled from the cold air, but Darcy appreciated the gesture anyway.

Smiling to herself, Darcy thought of how she had been the one to console Jane with similar words not all that long ago, after Thor's first departure.

"Yeah," She said with confidence, gazing up at the wide grey sky, "they will be."

* * *

Only one more chapter to go! Inspiration struck me yesterday and I started writing a new oneshot that I'll post once this fic is done :)

You may have noticed that the idea for the truth sword came from the Mortal Instruments series. Holding the Mortal Sword compels Shadowhunters to tell the truth but it's a very invasive and painful process. I figured that Loki would be terrified of the idea of something being able to get inside his head like that.


	10. Chapter 10

The end is here! I really appreciate all the amazing reviews I've gotten for this fic, so thanks for sticking with it! I have a new oneshot I'll be posting shortly, so keep your eyes peeled for that :)

* * *

Six months later

"Holy mother of Oprah, what is _that_?!"

Darcy's voice was high and shrieking as she and Jane stood side by side on the sidewalk outside of Stark's New York office.

They had been in the middle of their usual lab research when JARVIS' cool, accented voice had calmly asked them to evacuate the building. Darcy had assumed it was some kind of routine fire drill but now she could very clearly see the reason for JARVIS' call.

Only a few short blocks away stood a massive metal beast, tearing apart buildings and crushing cars Godzilla style. It walked on all four feet with a long sweeping tail full of tall, sharp spikes. It reminded Darcy of some freakish steampunk lizard as it stomped around, swinging its heavy tail back and forth across the street.

Wide eyed and thoroughly freaked out, Darcy turned to Jane. The astrophysicist was also staring at the creature, only her expression held awe instead of panic.

"Amazing," Jane breathed, craning her neck to watch the massive beast move towards them. "The mechanics are phenomenal."

As Jane started muttering about battery reserves and perpetual motion, Darcy grabbed her wrist, pulling her away as the two of them narrowly avoided being crushed by a chunk of falling concrete.

"You can watch the How it's Made episode later," Darcy huffed, tugging at a reluctant Jane, "right now we've gotta boogie before that thing flattens us into pancakes."

The ground shook as a tall building only a block away crumbled to the ground, sending a storm of thick, dusty air towards Jane and Darcy.

"Yeah, okay, now might be a good time to run." Jane coughed as the dust settled around them. Fear was finally starting to creep into her voice.

They took off in the opposite direction of Steampunk Lizard. A haze of dust and dirt settled over the streets like thick fog, and Darcy squinted fruitlessly as she tried to read street signs to figure out where they were.

"Jane, I can't tell - holy hell!" Darcy ducked as a large blur of red, white and blue sailed over her, just narrowly missing the top of her head.

"Sorry, ma'am. You ok?"

Darcy looked up from her crouched position to see none other than Steve Rogers watching her worriedly.

"I'm fine aside from your shield almost decapitating me." Darcy grumbled.

Captain Spangly Pants at least had the decency to blush at that.

"Sorry again." He said apologetically, "You ladies need help?"

"We're fine," Jane interjected, "but I would like to know what the hell is happening."

"It's some lunatic's attempt at confronting Tony," a female voice called out. Darcy looked up to see the Black Widow step out from behind a crushed car with a gun in each of her hands, "Apparently he thinks New York isn't big enough for two genius inventors – _genius _being debatable – so he's issued a challenge."

"Yeah, well your timing sucks, dude!" Darcy yelled at the robot lizard, "Tony isn't even here, he's in Hong Kong all week! So suck on that!"

"...and now you just gave away his location. Thanks." Natasha scowled at Darcy.

"I assume Barton and Doctor Banner are with you, does that mean Thor's here too?" Jane interrupted, looking around hopefully.

"Fury put in a call. He should be here any minute. In the meantime...Cap?" Natasha looked to Steve, raising her guns.

"Let's do it." Rogers confirmed with a slight smile. He nodded a goodbye to Jane and Darcy before he and Natasha ran straight for the metal beast.

"They should change their code names to Death Wish One and Death Wish Two," Darcy commented with a baffled shake of her head as she watched them eagerly head into the fray. "Superheroes, man."

"Let's go, Darce." Jane pulled at the sleeve of her jacket, "If that thing comes down it'll take out at least a three block radius which, right now, includes us."

"Right. Commence running for our lives. God, I hate running." Darcy sprinted down the sidewalk, following Jane's lead.

Her feet pounded on the pavement and her breath was starting to come out in quick pants. When she glanced down, Darcy saw that below her feet a large, deep crack was beginning to split the asphalt.

"Shit!" Darcy cried, veering away from the crack as it opened up into a sinkhole, eating up the ground behind her.

In the distance she heard Jane call her name but the hole had already separated them, leaving Darcy alone on the far side of the street.

She looked over her shoulder, seeing that Steampunk Lizard was now only standing on two unsteady legs. Black smoke poured from it as it stumbled down the street in a drunken, zig-zag pattern.

Exhausted and _so _fed up with this mass destruction crap, Darcy took refuge behind a dented mailbox, sinking down onto her butt on the hard sidewalk.

"God dammit, Tony." She grumbled to herself, "I'm totally demanding a raise after this. I deserve danger pay for this shit."

She leaned her head back against the mailbox, gazing up at the hazy, smoke-filled sky. Her eyes were starting to water from the gritty air and her throat felt scratchy and bone dry. Maybe she could-

"What the hell?" Darcy's dry throat was totally forgotten as she watched a flaming car sail through the air.

A car.

On fire.

Coming right towards her.

"Oh for fuck's sake, _really_?" Darcy scrambled up from her seated position, "Why me?"

She ran as fast as her legs would carry her but it was no use, she could tell that the car was coming too quickly.

So this was how it was going to end. Death by flaming, falling car. There were certainly less glamorous ways to go, she supposed.

Darcy was trying to resign herself to the fact that she was likely not going to make it out of this alive when a startlingly bright burst of light erupted in front of her. She stumbled backwards, arms flailing as she tried to keep her balance.

The lights looked familiar and Darcy felt a surge of excitement in her chest. She knew only a few certain space vikings who made an entrance like that.

Sure enough, when the lights faded, Loki was standing in front of her. He had his arms spread out wide and a shield of gleaming light surrounded him, stretching out to encompass her. When the flaming car finally reached Darcy, it hit the protective shield and disintegrated, leaving nothing but a pile of dust that fell to the ground harmlessly.

"Miss me, pet? Loki quirked an eyebrow at Darcy, a grin on his face. He dropped his arms and the magical shield vanished.

"Hurry your ass up next time," Darcy complained, though a smile was tugging at her lips, "I was almost toast."

She launched herself at him then, throwing her arms around his neck and making Loki stumble back a few steps.

He chuckled, wrapping his arms tightly around her waist, "I would slay all the motor vehicles on Midgard to ensure that no harm ever came to you." He vowed solemnly.

"You can't kill a car, Loki. It's not alive." Darcy rolled her eyes affectionately.

"I would do it though. For you." He dropped his head, murmuring the words against her ear.

Darcy shivered, pressing herself closer to him, "You big ol' romantic."

A loud, forced cough interrupted them and Darcy turned her head to see Thor standing off to the side, awkwardly shifting Mjolnir from hand to hand.

"Hello Darcy. I trust that you are well?" Thor greeted.

"Hey, big guy. I'm just dandy aside from the whole 'burning city and narrowly avoiding death' thing." Darcy replied, reluctantly stepping out of Loki's embrace.

"Ah, well we shall take care of that, won't we, Loki?" Thor looked to his brother, sounding excited at the prospect of a good fight.

Seriously, Darcy wondered, were all of these Avengers completely bat-shit crazy? No sane person ever got giddy over the thought of throwing themselves face first into danger.

"It has been some time since I was able to put my knives to good use." Loki mused, fingering the hilt of a long blade that was strapped to the side of his thigh.

"Alright, go save the city." Darcy shooed him away, "Come find me when you're done...and stop that thing before it hits 48th street. I would like to still have an apartment to go home to tonight."

* * *

It was after nine o'clock when Loki showed up in Darcy's modest one bedroom apartment. He materialized in the middle of her living room just as she was walking out of the kitchen stirring a mug of hot chocolate.

"Holy shit!" Darcy nearly dropped her mug when she saw him. "Can't you use the door like a normal person?"

"No." Loki answered simply.

He approached her couch and with a look of great distaste, he picked off all of her mismatched throw pillows before sitting down heavily, arms and legs stretched out until he was taking up nearly the entire couch.

Darcy rolled her eyes at him, taking a sip of her hot drink before setting the mug down on the coffee table.

"Scooch over," she instructed, pushing at Loki's thigh until he shifted enough that she could sit beside him. She plopped down on the couch, folding her pyjama clad legs under her.

Loki eyed her outfit with mild repulsion, "These are your typical Midgardian sleeping garments? I much prefer you in my tunic. Or nothing at all." He raised an eyebrow suggestively.

Darcy looked down at her baggy flannel pants. They were bright yellow, covered in a pattern of cartoon pigs who had top hats and mustaches.

"This is my favourite pair!" She exclaimed, pointing at her leg, "Look how dapper these little guys are."

"They are horrid and I think I shall rid you of them." A quick, sly smile flashed across his face.

"You can try." Darcy challenged, letting out a squeak of surprise when he suddenly grabbed her leg, causing her to flop over onto her side. She struggled against him, kicking her feet uselessly as he tugged the pyjama pants down her legs.

"No fair, you're bigger than me," she pouted as Loki won their battle, bunching up her pants into a ball and tossing them over his shoulder.

"Apologies," he murmured, sounding anything but sorry as he lowered his head to kiss a line up the inside of her thigh.

"Well," Darcy panted as his mouth continued to move higher, "I guess I can deal with losing if it means you're gonna keep doing that."

Loki chuckled and she felt his smile against her skin. He placed one last kiss on her thigh before raising his head to look at her, "Tell me what you want, Darcy." He purred, his voice low and seductive. His eyes were dark and burning with promise, making Darcy shiver.

"Bedroom," she demanded.

"Hold on to me." Loki laid his body along hers, his arms wrapping around her as he used his magic to transport them to Darcy's bedroom.

When they landed on the mattress in the same position, Darcy rolled away from him, moving to sit on the edge of the bed.

"Ugh," she made a face, "Teleportation always makes me feel icky."

"It gets easier with time." Loki stroked a hand down her back, "Here, come lay down."

Darcy settled back on the bed, resting her head on her pillow.

Loki sat next to her, leaning his weight on one arm. He pushed up the hem of her black tank top and placed his hand on the soft skin of her belly.

A soothing wave of warmth flowed into Darcy's stomach, chasing away any of her lingering discomfort.

"Mmm, that works better than Gravol." She sighed blissfully, closing her eyes, "Can I take you with me the next time I get car sick?"

"Whatever you need." Loki said seriously. His hand slowly inched up her stomach until his fingertips were skimming the underside of her breast.

Darcy's eyes popped open, "Speaking of needs...you know what I need right now?" She arched her back as his fingers continued to brush against her teasingly.

"I have a fairly good guess." Loki replied with a slight smile, "Shall I show you?"

The word 'yes' wasn't even fully out of Darcy's mouth before his lips were on hers, hard and needy. She moaned into his mouth, wrapping her legs around his hips as she tried to line him up with her core. It had been too long; she needed him desperately.

When she felt the thick fabric of his pants brush against her, she pulled her head back, "Those need to come off right now."

"As soon as this comes off," Loki replied, plucking at the fabric of her tank top.

"So take it off." Darcy shot back with a grin. She raised her arms, letting them rest on the pillow above her head. The position made her chest look even more prominent than usual.

"Minx," Loki growled, his eyes roaming over her heatedly. He deftly peeled off her top and panties before cupping her breasts with his hands.

"Oh my God," Darcy groaned at the feeling. His work with Thor and the other Avengers had left his hands rough and calloused. As they moved over her skin, she felt her whole body flush with pleasure. When his mouth closed around one nipple, she moaned out his name loudly.

"You are far more sensitive than I remember." Loki dropped his head to her other breast, giving it equal attention with his mouth.

"Yeah, well," Darcy panted, trying to form a coherent sentence, "It's been a long six months."

At that, Loki raised his head, looking surprised but pleased, "All of this time, you have gone without...?"

"Of course," Darcy replied, "It's called monogamy, look it up." Her eyes narrowed suspiciously, "Why did you sound so surprised? You haven't been boinking other chicks while you've been gone, have you? Cause that's gonna be a problem."

Loki shook his head, "No, Darcy. I have not been _boinking_ anyone."

His cheeks went pink, like he was thinking of something embarrassing.

"What?" Darcy prodded him.

"There have been a few occasions where I desired you greatly," Loki admitted, sounding hesitant. He cleared his throat uncomfortably, "I satisfied my need by my own hand...ah, using memories of you."

"Oh my God, Loki." Darcy burst out into a fit of giggles.

"I fail to see what is so funny." Loki grumbled.

"It's nothing to be embarrassed about," Darcy couldn't help but grin at him. She put her hand on his neck, guiding him down into a kiss. When they broke apart, she whispered seductively, "It's actually pretty hot, knowing that you were jerking off to me."

"Darcy," Loki groaned, dropping his head onto her shoulder. "Gods, how I've missed you." He ground against her, his arousal hard against her leg.

"Take off your pants," she instructed, "and do it without your magic. I want to watch."

Loki pressed a kiss to her lips before he complied, pushing himself off the bed and slowly beginning to undress before her.

Darcy's mouth went dry when his shirt came off. He was still as lean and pale as she remembered. All that had really changed from the last time she saw him was his hair. It looked shorter now; the ends of the dark strands just barely brushing the tops of his shoulders.

When his hands went to the clasp of his black leathery pants, Darcy had to squeeze her thighs together to control the hot pangs of desire shooting through her. "Little faster please," she said weakly.

Loki quickly rid himself of his pants and boots before joining her back on the bed. He lay on his side facing her, gently grasping Darcy's hip and encouraging her to roll over until she was on her side rather than her back.

"Put your leg here." He murmured, guiding her thigh over his leg.

They had barely even begun and Darcy's breath was already coming out in short, breathy pants. God, she wanted him so bad.

When he finally slid into her, Darcy cried out. The solid warmth of him was so intense, it almost felt unbearable. She hadn't truly realized just how much she missed him until he was inside of her, the familiar fullness making her chest pang with emotion.

"Am I hurting you?" Loki's voice sounded strained as he stilled against her.

The position was incredibly intimate, their faces only inches apart, so Darcy leaned in and kissed him soundly.

"No, but _please_ start moving before my lady parts explode," she begged.

He smiled and Darcy felt her heart do a flip-flop. It was a wide, easy smile that made him look young and untroubled.

As he moved, his pace was languid. Each of the slow, shallow thrusts made Darcy let out a little sigh of pleasure. Loki's hands trailed down her back, stopping to cup her ass and help her move with him.

"Fuck," Darcy hissed, her eyes fluttering closed, "Keep doing that."

Loki dropped his head to her neck, kissing the skin over her pulse point. When he spoke, his voice was ragged with want, "You are divine."

"God, Loki," Darcy said breathlessly as she directed one of his hands to her chest, "Touch me here. I'm so close already."

Loki palmed her breast, his thumb moving over her nipple until Darcy cried out loudly, her body arching against him as her orgasm hit her, sudden and intense. As she tightened around him, Loki made a low, choked noise deep in his throat.

The sound caused a wave of goosebumps to break out over her skin. She could feel him shudder against her as he tried to restrain himself, not wanting to be too rough with her.

Her fingers ran along his shoulder blades, stopping to linger at the back of his neck. She didn't want his restraint, she wanted to see him come undone with raw, true feeling. "Faster," she whispered, grinding her pelvis against him, "just let go."

Loki's mouth slammed down on hers as he rolled them over until Darcy's back was flat against the mattress. She gasped into his mouth, quickly reaching up to sink her fingers into his hair as she kissed him back greedily.

Where their first round had been slow and sensual, this was desperate and needy.

Loki's pupils were large and black, his eyes never leaving Darcy's face as he moved his hips in time with hers. His lips were parted, the occasional small moan of pleasure escaping between them. He was gorgeous, Darcy thought, and she would be quiet happy if this moment were to never end.

She could feel his body tensing, nearing release. Her legs were loosely wrapped around his lower waist so she shifted positions, raising her legs higher up and locking them around his torso. The new angle was deep and incredibly stimulating, causing them both to moan. Darcy felt her own pleasure building yet again, a second orgasm simmering just beneath her skin.

"Darcy," Loki choked out her name, his eyes half-closed with pleasure as he increased his pace. A bead of sweat rolled down the side of his neck and Darcy bent her body forward, leaning up to catch it with her tongue as she dragged her lips across his skin.

She wasn't sure if it was the way she bent her body or the work of her mouth but suddenly Loki was coming inside of her, his hips stuttering with a few final, jerky movements that set off her own orgasm. Her arms tightened around him and her breath stalled as she made a low noise of pleasure.

Loki was murmuring into her ear, a long string of words that sounded foreign to Darcy but from the tone of his voice she understood that they were tender and meaningful, likely the closest thing to a confession of love that he was able to give her.

When they had cleaned up and returned to bed, Darcy rested her head on Loki's chest so she could hear the steady, soothing _thump-thump_ of his heart. It felt really good to be near him again.

"You looked like you had fun today." She commented, using her index finger to draw random patterns against the pale skin of his stomach, "Working with the Avengers hasn't been totally awful, huh?"

Loki was quiet for a minute as he thought of an appropriate answer. "It has its moments." He finally replied, "Although I do not particularly care for the woman or the archer. Perhaps I will be fortunate enough that our next mission will find them meeting their untimely demise."

"Loki!" Shocked, Darcy sat up and leveled him with a hard glare, "Don't say stuff like that!"

"Why not?" Loki retorted, "They quite obviously hold no fond feelings for me either."

"Yeah but Barton and Romanoff are your partners. Your allies. You can't just go around wishing death on everyone you don't get along with! " Darcy argued.

"Why not?" He repeated.

"Because...because you just can't!" Darcy fumbled for an explanation, "Good people don't do that."

Loki raised an eyebrow skeptically, "And what makes you think that I am a good person?"

"Well, you did just give me two orgasms." Darcy smiled sweetly.

Her joke had the intended effect and the growing tension between them dissolved as Loki let out a deep chuckle. He rolled over, gently trapping Darcy beneath the weight of his body.

"Perhaps I should add one more to that total," he murmured, brushing her hair aside so he could place a string of hot kisses down her neck, "In fact...I think I will give you a total of six. One for each month I have been absent."

"Loki," Darcy panted as his hand traveled under the blankets to part her thighs, "I think six is kinda physically impossible."

"I am a God," he slowly eased himself into her, making Darcy gasp, "_Impossible_ is not in my vocabulary."

"And neither is _humble_." Darcy teased, laughing when Loki leaned in to nip at the skin of her shoulder. "Okay, Tall, Dark and Godly, give it your best shot."

Many hours later, exhausted and deliciously sore, Darcy had been proven wrong.

...not that she really minded.


End file.
